What You Stole
by resoundingdeluge
Summary: After arriving in Kuo Kuana with Blake, Sun finds that he feels quite a bit more than friendship toward his companion. As he struggles to handle his growing feelings and winning the Belladonna family's approval, figures from Blake's past begin to surface and make life more difficult for both of them. A 'what if' story where Sun remains relevant. Now updating with Volume 7 content!
1. A Midnight Journey

Sun Wukong had always been the envy of the rest of his team when it came to turning in for the night. On a given evening inside of their dorm, Neptune could usually be found primping and obsessing over his every pore in the bathroom late into the night, which contributed to keeping the others awake. Scarlet would lay in bed, staring at the ceiling for hours on end while remaining silent. Sage needed to read for at least two hours before turning off his light and making an effort to rest, or sleep would elude him for the entire rest of the night.

Sun, however, could fall asleep practically as soon as his head hit the pillow, or occasionally, the armrest of the couch, the floor, the netting of a hammock outside, or really, _anything_. The other three boys would sometimes reference the stunning feat, usually with subtle shades of jealousy lacing their voices. He really didn't know how to explain it- when he committed to sleeping, he was out like a light, and nearly impossible to rouse before he had clocked in a hard eight hours or more of sleep.

How the rest of SSSN would be laughing that night, if they could have seen him.

Everything about the guest room that Sun had been given in the Belladonna mansion was _perfect_ for a restful sleep. The wooden-walled room was large, _too_ large for one person, he thought. Decorative plants were strewn about, adding an exotic, soothing fragrance to the atmosphere. Multiple paintings were strategically placed around the walls to draw the eye to their representations of the foliage and animals of the island, and several pieces of furniture were spaced throughout the room to allow for several guests at once. Particularly of note was the bed, atop which a shirtless Sun had flopped himself, expecting to fall asleep near immediately.

The light, silky blanket upon which Sun lay was irresistibly smooth and warm to the touch. Any other night, the sensation of that alone would have been enough to lull him into a peaceful, comforting snooze. The mattress itself was soft and plushy enough to sink just enough beneath his weight, and the pillows were made of some material that he had never encountered before, and stuffed with what Sun could only suspect was pure witchcraft, for how heavenly they felt against his head and neck. As a final, somnolent touch, the bed was positioned perfectly next to a sliding door that led to a small balcony, which Sun had elected to leave cracked for the ambient sounds of the island nightlife and a cool, ocean-scented breeze.

Yet still, sleep evaded him, and he had been actively trying to slip away for over an hour.

The restless boy rolled onto his side with a disappointed moan, as the memory of his introduction to Blake's parents played in his mind on an endless loop. Oddly enough to Sun, the parts that stuck out to him weren't the looks that Blake gave him during the conversation, or the way that her mother had whispered how much she liked him.

It was her father's cold, judgmental stare, and how badly he had fumbled his words. Normally, a simple misunderstanding or moment of verbal entanglement didn't bother the monkey-tailed faunus. This time, however, it clawed at his mind like some small animal trying to escape from within his skull, with no sign of letting up.

 _She's got some moves_.

All he had intended, at first, was to talk up Blake's ability in battle and let her parents know that Blake could take care of herself and they should be proud of their daughter. As soon as he had said she 'had some moves', however, his mind betrayed him and peppered his every thought with the way that her hips swayed as she walked, how her ears perked and curled with her emotions, and the subtle, easily missed twitch of the occasional smirk that she offered to him when he pleased her.

Carefree and enthusiastic though he was, Sun was no fool. He knew that a small crush had taken residence in his heart as he spent time with the mysterious and complicated cat faunus. It wasn't until that moment, looking at her father's disapproving expression as he could only return a self-conscious smile, that he knew that his crush had mysteriously and quite suddenly evolved into something _more_.

As the words left Sun's lips, his brain and mouth disconnected. No matter what he said afterward, or how desperately he tried to use his hands to convey meaning, he only seemed to be able to dig the hole deeper. Ghira Belladonna's eyes narrowed as Sun's terrible, dramatic flailing continued, making him feel as though he was shrinking and would soon disappear with a tiny, pathetic _pop_. Finally, he gave up entirely and tried to distract himself with the kettle upon the table.

Sun closed his eyes and drew the corner of his mouth upward as he cringed, speaking aloud to himself in the empty guest room.

"This tea is _really_ good. Smooth, Sun. _Smooth_."

With a dramatic sigh, Sun sat up in bed and opened his eyes as he traced a hand upward to scratch at the back of his head. He looked out into the semidarkness, taking note of the locations of the coffee table, ottoman, chairs, and dresser before he slid down to the foot of the bed to let his legs dangle.

"This is stupid. _I'm stupid_ , _"_ he whined, as he planted his bare feet onto the floor. Sun stood and stretched his arms up above his head with a disappointed groan, before straightening up. His shoes and gauntlets lay discarded at the foot of the bed, while his shirt hung over the back of a nearby chair. He chose to ignore both heaps of clothing as he walked to the sliding door adjacent to his bed. The wooden frame housed what appeared to be some sort of paper, and the entire contraption felt light, though sturdy, as he shoved it aside. Sun stepped out onto the small balcony and shivered as his bare feet touched the cool, smooth wooden planks beneath them.

Sun folded his arms over the railing and leaned down ever so slightly to look out over the town below. Scant lights within distant houses were still on, and the moon had almost climbed to be directly overhead. He had no idea what time it was, but he knew that it had to be _very_ late.

As his eyes wandered the scenery, one particular light caught his eye. Far to his right side, on the opposite end of the mansion, one room was still lit by an orange glow. Sun knew that Blake's room was somewhere in that opposite wing, and he also knew that the move to place him as far away as possible from her was likely intentional. Despite the sour impression of his introduction to Ghira still lingering in the back of his mind, his heart leapt at the sight.

Was she still awake?

Was she, perhaps, unable to sleep, too? And if so…

…was she thinking about him?

Throwing caution to the wind, Sun turned on his heel and walked back inside of his borrowed room. He made for a wall on the opposite side of the room, and hesitated only for a moment as he placed his hand upon the sliding door placed in the center. His eyes wandered over to his pile of clothing, before he shook his head.

If he was to meet Blake after all, cargo shorts were enough coverage. He had been completely shirtless around her before, and his default look wasn't exactly far removed in terms of nudity. Shoes and gauntlets being absent was _hardly_ scandalous, in comparison.

With only denim and a necklace to clothe him, Sun stepped out into the hall. The wooden floor creaked loudly at his first footfall, and his heart jumped up into his throat at the sharp sound.

Where, exactly, was Ghira and Kali's room? Sun hadn't been given a tour, and until that moment, he had never mustered the will to explore the house on his own.

He had been far too busy that day clinging to Blake, and making sure that his introductory blunder hadn't caused her to suddenly hate him.

Sun strained his ears as he listened for footsteps, a voice, or any acknowledgment at all that he had entered the hallway. He suddenly found himself wishing that he, too, had an extra set of cat ears, though he had a feeling that even _that_ wouldn't have made Ghira see him as a potential fit for his daughter. After several seconds of hearing nothing, he exhaled a breath that he didn't know he had been holding.

"Come on, dude. You got this."

Resolute in his goal, Sun set out once again, stepping lightly. Shadows of pillars, plants, and occasional sculptures danced on the walls as the moonlight played through the high windows of the hallway while he walked. Sun found himself seeing, but not processing the imagery as he made his way toward the light. After a few minutes of walking, he found that he could see it just ahead.

Another large, wooden door was slightly open, spilling a shaft of light out into the hallway. That particular door, however, was emblazoned with a familiar crest upon the papery material- one that he had seen on various accessories belonging to Blake. The Belladonna emblem.

Sun allowed himself a victorious grin, and strode forward with confidence. He put a hand upon the wooden doorframe as he reached the room, and poked his head inside.

There, sat at a desk in the center of the room, was Ghira Belladonna, staring back at him with a familiar look of disapproval in his eyes.

"…and what are _you_ doing out of bed so late, Mr. Wukong?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So begins my first 'long' continuous story for RWBY. Updates soon.

 **-RD**


	2. Dead Weight

Several possible scenarios played out in a flash within the young faunus' mind.

 _Option one. "I, uh… gah! I was, um, I was looking for the bathroom," he lied, in a most transparent attempt. Ghira stood with a snarl, and then called him out immediately._

 _Option two. "Oh, you know, I was just checking up on you! I saw a light on, and I figured you'd be working, and maybe… needed… some help? Or something?" he cringed at the unlikelihood of his own answer, given that he neither knew what Ghira did in his office, that this_ _ **was**_ _his office to begin with, or how he could possibly help. Ghira rolled his eyes, and launched into a lecture._

 _Option three. "What are_ _ **you**_ _doing out of bed so late, Mr. B?" he said with requisite finger guns, before finding himself flying across the room as the result of a mighty toss from the much larger male._

He quickly decided that option three was most certainly off the table.

Of all of the various jams that Sun's natural curiosity had gotten himself into over the years, this particular one was by _far_ his least favorite. He slipped past the edge of the door and moved to stand inside of the office itself, buying himself precious seconds to think. The action did him little good, as he found none of his imagined retorts satisfactory. Ghira quirked a brow at Sun's movements, and titled his head slightly downward. There was only one thing left to do.

"I was… I saw a light on, across the house, and I figured… uh, I kinda figured it was coming from Blake's room. I was going to check up on her," Sun began, feeling his cheeks start to warm. In his heart, he knew that he was likely about to die as Ghira stood, folding his massive arms across his chest.

"And do what, exactly?" he rumbled. Ghira towered over both the desk and Sun himself. Somehow, he made _everything_ in the room look smaller, almost as though the decorative plants, chairs, and other accents within the office were meant for a doll house, rather than a real one.

"I…" Sun looked off to the side as he brought up a hand to scratch awkwardly at his neck. "…I honestly don't know. She's seemed kinda upset ever since we set out, and it's only gotten worse since we made it to Kuo Kuana. No matter what we did, though, I wanted to apologize to her for embarrassing her in front of you, though." Sun dared to look up and meet Ghira's eyes, hoping that his gambit paid off. While he always did value sincerity, being fully honest with someone so intimidating and invested in Blake's wellbeing seemed incredibly risky.

Ghira opened his mouth to reply, only to close it again almost immediately. He began to slowly walk toward Sun, and the younger male decided to hold his ground- or, less decided, and more found himself frozen in fear. As the patriarch of the Belladonnas approached, Ghira heaved a great sigh, before putting a massive hand upon his unwilling companion's shoulder.

"While I appreciate your honesty," he began, "the last time I saw my little girl before today was several years ago, when I stepped down from my position of command within the White Fang. Blake chose to stay behind and continue the fight, regardless of their harsh methods… and she chose to stay behind with Adam Taurus. That man saved my life, once… and even so, I _do not like him_."

Sun laughed nervously, offering an uneasy grin despite himself. "Wow. High standards to live up to, huh?"

"High standards _indeed_ , Mr. Wukong." Ghira clenched his right hand around Sun's left shoulder, squeezing just hard enough to cause a bit of pain. The younger faunus fought back a yelp, and settled for gritting his teeth behind closed lips. "Since you're in an… _honest_ mood, there is something I would very much like to know. Are you and my daughter in a relationship?"

"No!" Sun shot back, eyes wide. He wasn't sure what answer Ghira wanted, but common sense compelled him to immediately tell the truth yet again. "No, we're… we're just close friends. No romance going on here, Mr. B. I mean, look at me, right? And look at _her_. There's no way anything's happened between us. You know me… or, I guess you don't really _know_ me, but you know how I am… kinda?" Sun tilted his head, unsure himself. "Do you really think she'd… _go_ for that?" The inflection of his voice dropped a bit, as the truth in his words hit him like an oncoming truck.

 _Did_ he have a chance with Blake? Could someone so dour and saddled with guilt learn to love an upbeat, optimistic young man like him?

" _Look at her_ , you say. Just what are you implying?" The grip tightened as Ghira narrowed his eyes while leaning in, and Sun began to fear for the safety of his clavicle.

"I… I just… _you know_ , she's kinda…"

"If you're going to become a _temporary_ member of this household, young man, then I suggest that you begin to get used to the idea of learning from me. Your first lesson is to learn when to stop talking." The grip released as Ghira pulled his head back, and Sun let out a haggard, desperate sigh of relief at the action. "Nothing I have asked you necessitated more than a few words of response, and yet you continue to dig yourself a hole."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir," Sun offered, as Ghira folded his arms across his chest once again.

"I don't want your apologies. I want you to _listen_. I know that my daughter is approaching her later adolescent years, and I am also well aware of the fact that she and Adam were… _close_. Closer than I would have liked. Given what kind of man he has turned out to be, I can only imagine the damage that he has done to Blake already. Knowing that such a situation is something that she would _never_ feel comfortable discussing with me only makes the matter worse, and also makes trusting any other… _male companions_ of hers that much more difficult."

"Well, I can guarantee you that I'm _nothing_ like A-" Sun paused mid-gesture, his hands out in front of him in an attempt at reassurance. He stopped short as Ghira put up a hand, commanding silence.

"Have you ever _met_ Adam?"

"Uh… no, but she's t-" Sun said, only to be interrupted.

"Then _stop talking_." Sun nodded, feeling ashamed of his stupidity. Somehow, no matter what he did or said, it only seemed to make the situation worse.

"…yes, sir."

"I am going to tell you three things, and then, you are going to go back to your room, and you are not going to mention this conversation to my daughter, or my wife. Is that clear?" Ghira punctuated the last word by raising his voice just enough to rattle Sun's bones. Suddenly, the monkey faunus felt that he might faint, right then and there.

"Crystal, sir," he said with a salute. Sun then immediately dropped the hand down to his side, that familiar sensation of feeling very stupid creeping into his chest once again.

" _First_ , you are to stay away from Blake at night, and should the two of you be in a room together during the day, the door to that room _will_ be open. While you two are apparently 'just friends', I, too, was once a teenage boy, and I do not want you to instigate anything untoward in my household."

Sun's blush intensified to a furious scarlet, and he tried to channel his inner chameleon faunus in hopes that he could simply melt away into the shadows. It didn't quite work.

"Got it. Message received," he replied, keeping his eyes on anything _but_ Ghira. What a nice, expensive looking carpet the Belladonnas had in the office. A rich purple, embroidered with a golden pattern of-

" _Second_ , if this 'close friendship' of yours does blossom," Ghira paused, narrowing his eyes at the thought, "or from my perspective, _decay_ into a relationship, if I ever find that you have broken her heart, then _I_ will break the rest of you."

"Yeah, I, uh, had a feeling that was how something like that might go." Sun dared to glance back up at Ghira, only to be met with the most intimidating stare he had ever received. He flicked his eyes back to the carpet immediately.

"And, finally… I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that _I do not like you_ ," Ghira finished, before turning his back on Sun.

The teen suddenly very much felt the need to find a bathroom, though he wasn't exactly sure what he would do if he found one. He guessed that it would involve some sort of ungodly mess, a rancid smell, and potentially his entire body melting into a pile of gore and shame.

"…that's… fair." Sun couldn't think of anything else to say- after all, _he_ didn't like himself very much either, in that moment.

Ghira sat back in his chair, behind a mountain of paperwork. Despite Sun's desperate wishes that it would hide the massive man from view, the stacks didn't even come close to doing so. A booming voice interrupted his thoughts.

"…why are you still here, Mr. Wukong? Don't you have a bed to be in, about now?"

" _Yes!_ " he replied emphatically, while nodding his head. "Right you are. Goodnight, Mr. B!"

He didn't wait for a reply, though nothing more than a grunt was offered anyway, before he disappeared through the door and closed it with just a bit too much force. Sun's entire body felt like it was on fire, and he did the only thing he could think to do- he _ran_.

With his heart trying to escape through his throat, Sun sprinted down the halls of the Belladonna mansion, his body on autopilot as he let some primal instinct guide him back toward his room. Priority one was to get as far from Ghira as humanly possible, and he thought that he was doing a pretty good job of it.

Thoughts swirled through his mind as quickly as he pumped his legs throughout his desperate escape, and his head began to pound at the mere thought of Blake, or her incredibly unsupportive father. After what seemed like half an hour of sprinting, Sun slowed and doubled over in the middle of a hall, clutching his stomach as he tried desperately to catch his breath.

"Oh, god… not good… _really_ not good…"

By that point, Sun was pretty sure that his stomach and intestines had turned into some vile, heavy liquid that his legs were forced to carry forward. He began to walk, making for his room as he kept an entire arm braced around his stomach, and the other on the wall. Just ahead, he could see the outline of the door to his bedroom, and only the thought of fresh air on the balcony was enough to drive him forward. He hobbled his way to the door, and slid the frame aside.

There on his bed with a curious look on her face and a small silken robe covering her body was Blake Belladonna.

"… _Sun?_ "

"Oh, _shit!_ "

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Part of me wants to make this something like 50 chapters of Sun going back and forth and finding people he doesn't want to encounter at a given moment in various rooms. I promise that won't actually be the case.

Probably.

 **-RD**


	3. Tingles

There had been a time or two or twelve when Sun had found his eyes drinking in the sight of Blake's midriff since their time on the boat to Menagerie, but he had never before seen her quite like _that_.

Blake was sitting in the center of his bed, with one hand pressed down into the smooth sheets and another lightly placed in her lap. Her legs were curled to one side before her, and the jet-black silken kimono covering her form just barely reached to her upper thigh, affording Sun quite the view of her gorgeous legs. The pair of limbs seemed to almost glisten in the moonlight, and Sun could feel his shorts tightening a bit as his jaw dropped ever so slightly.

"Wow," Blake stated in a monotone voice, "nice to see you, too."

Sun shook his head to try to clear his thoughts, and closed the door behind himself. Ghira's words of warning popped into his mind, and he immediately opened the door again… before closing it. And opening it. And decisively closing it.

 _What if Ghira had followed him…?_

" _You can't be here!_ " Sun nearly shrieked. A mixture of the elder Belladonna's threats, his churning and warping stomach, the exertion of sprinting down the halls, and the sight of the beautiful girl waiting on his bed caused Sun to start sweating _hard_.

"Why not? It's my house, Sun." Blake made no effort to move from her position, though she tilted her head and raised a brow at the sight of her friend's condition. "Are you… okay? You look like you just ran a marathon."

Though he was physically frozen in place, Sun's mind _was_ running a marathon. If he was caught with Blake in his room at that hour, _especially_ after his conversation with Ghira, he was dead. More than dead, if such a thing was possible. He needed an excuse to get her out of there immediately, and it needed to be believable.

"Because… Blake, I need to take a _wicked_ dump," he said in an exasperated tone. The mental image of a cannonball tearing through the side of ship crossed his mind as he said it, though he didn't know exactly why.

Blake's reaction was both predictable, and not- she pulled a face and leaned back slightly as she spoke, but her words didn't quite match what Sun expected her to say.

"Sun, that is _disgusting_. Just… go ahead, and I'll wait. Never tell me something like that again." Blake sighed, shaking her head to try to clear it of all imagery associated with Sun in the bathroom. The boy merely balked at her, trying desperately to figure out how he had failed to drive her off.

"Wait? Wait for _what?_ " he turned the last word into something between a sigh and a desperate plea, praying to every deity he could think of for her to reconsider.

"Uh… you? I want to talk. Just, go and… take care of things." She lifted the hand from her lap and waved it toward a door on the far wall from the bed. Sun nodded and hobbled for the adjacent bathroom, still holding his stomach. He didn't close the door as he entered and flicked the light switch, and though he did indeed head for the toilet, he found that he had unfinished business with his _other_ end.

Sun knelt low, lifted the seat, and gripped the sides of the bowl as he vomited into the waiting water. All of the tension, fear, and food he had eaten rocketed from his mouth and splattered all over the porcelain as he shook with effort. He closed his eyes and heaved several breaths, trying his best to compose himself and praying that Blake somehow hadn't heard him, despite having four ears.

"Sun? _Sun!_ "

The worried cry came through the open door, accompanied by the sound of bare feet padding their way across the wooden floor, and then suddenly, bathroom tile. A sharp gasp came from the doorway, and then an unexpected, cold hand rested upon the small of his back.

Despite the sudden shock of freezing skin against his own, Sun found that her touch felt _amazing_.

"What happened? Are you alright? Should I get my mom?"

At that, Sun lifted his head, still breathing heavily and hoping that he hadn't gotten any of his vomit onto his chin or chest as he fixed her with tired eyes.

"No! Please, don't… I don't want to upset her. It's just… I don't know, it's just nerves, or maybe… reverse seasickness?"

" _Reverse_ seasickness?" Blake inquired, as she began to rub his back in small, gentle circles. Sun hoped against hope that she would never stop.

"Yeah, like… we've been on a boat for so long, maybe being on land again just messed me up?" He coughed a bit, and lurched forward as he felt his stomach do another loop. Sun felt his entire core shiver and twitch, but at the sight of Blake's ears folding back as she cringed, he held back as best he could.

"I don't think that's a thing," she replied. All sass and annoyance had left her voice, and for once, Blake sounded truly worried about him. Sun couldn't decide if the notion was comforting, or something he never wanted to hear again.

"I don't know. I'll be fine, I think. I just need a little time." Sun listened to his words echo within the bowl, and lifted his head to prevent the sound. _Everything_ seemed to be giving him a headache, that night.

Everything but her touch.

Blake patted Sun on the back, before she rose to stand over him. He looked up at her and watched as she tucked a swath of hanging ebony hair over her shoulder. He couldn't help but give her a weak smile as he watched, and Blake looked away and into the mirror over the sink in response.

"…stay here. I'll get something to make you feel better."

A tiny voice in Sun's head replied _but all I need for that is you_ , before a thousand _other_ tiny voices kicked the first down to the floor of his mind and curbstomped it into oblivion. Thankful for his ability to hold his tongue, Sun merely nodded and watched as she disappeared through the door with footfalls that slowly faded into silence.

After one final heave that ended up producing no more liquid, Sun leaned back and transitioned from his knees to his backside with a groan. He leaned back and closed his eyes, letting his back and head rest against the cool, pale blue tiles of the bathroom wall. The frigid surface immediately reminded him of Blake's hand, and he couldn't help but smile to himself. What he wouldn't give to be able to feel that every day, and have the opportunity to warm her with his own embrace.

As he sat there alone with his thoughts, he opened his eyes and began to take in the decoration of the bathroom. The tiles were light blue and crept a few feet up from the floor, where the walls gave way to a darker blue, painted wood. Strands of aquatic fauna were painted among the scene, along with several tuna. It was no great mystery who had made _that_ decision, and Sun couldn't help but chuckle to himself as the footfalls of the culprit once again became audible.

Blake made her way back into the bathroom, and set a toothbrush down onto the countertop before dropping to balance in a squat next to Sun. The cat faunus offered a small paper cup of water and two red pills in her other hand, both of which he gratefully accepted.

"Take these. They should help your… _issues_."

Sun popped the pills and drained the water, before tossing the tiny cup into a small wicker trashcan next to the toilet and shooting Blake a cheesy grin. "What're they gonna do, kill me?"

"Gods willing," she replied with a roll of her eyes. _There_ was the deadpan tone that he had grown to love. She stood and offered him a hand, and he clasped it before pulling himself up to stand over her. For a brief moment, all that either of them did was stare into each other's eyes. Sun was the first to break contact, both in eyesight, and hands.

"Thanks, Blake. I'll… finish in here, and meet you back in the main room. Do you still want to talk?"

"I do, yes," Blake replied as she slipped past him, brushing her chest lightly against his pecs. Sun's breath hitched as he watched her move deeper into the bathroom, only to daintily lift one leg and use her foot to push down the flush handle of the toilet and drain away his sickness.

"…what was _that?_ " he asked with a chuckle as he picked up the toothbrush. The handle had a deep purple rubber grip, and the bristles looked used.

Blake set her foot firmly back down onto the tile, and turned to face with him a look of indignation as she folded her arms beneath her modest chest. "What was _what_ , Sun? Toilet handles are gross."

"And feet aren't?" he retorted as he reached for the tube of toothpaste.

"What does that matter? Gross touching gross is fine, and now I don't have to wash my hands. Get over it." Blake moved to pass him again, this time lightly brushing her back against his own as she made for the doorway.

"Hey, uh… is this your toothbrush?" Sun asked, before she had a chance to disappear back into the bedroom.

Blake froze, and remained facing away from him as she stared out at the bed.

"…I don't know where my parents keep spares, and we have to go shopping tomorrow, anyway. We'll get new ones then. Why, is my mouth too gross for you, too?"

"No, I just… didn't expect you to offer your own. Thanks, Blake. I'll make this up to you, somehow." Sun squeezed some toothpaste out onto the bristles, and got to work cleaning the vile taste from his mouth. In a technical sense, it was almost like a kiss. A kiss with toothpaste.

Blake turned her head to look over her shoulder, and he saw one of her eyes fixated on his own in the mirror. "You can make it up to me by taking it seriously, when we talk."

Sun spit out a mouthful of minty froth into the sink, before giving her a nod through the glass. Blake looked back into the other room and sighed as she walked out, following her line of sight. His own line of sight followed the back of her head as she walked, and he found himself more preoccupied with worrying about what was on her mind than the view of her body.

As Blake disappeared from view, Sun trained his eyes on his own reflection. He looked like _hell_ , with a bit of rugged stubble beginning to form on his chin and cheeks. Fortunately, no traces of sickness had made it onto his face or chest after all, but even so, he seemed as though he'd had a stressful day. His hair was partially matted with sweat, and something in his eyes looked a bit shaken, or even _broken_ to him. He didn't like what he saw at all, and he couldn't help but wonder if she had seen it, too.

With a final shiver, Sun looked down and made another pass over his teeth with the borrowed brush before tossing it into the wicker basket and flicking the light off. He cracked his neck, and made his way out into the bedroom, hoping he was prepared for 'the talk'.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I'll do my best to keep the updates coming relatively quickly, though I can't promise daily or even every other day. I will, however, most likely keep chapters around this length in order to keep the updates coming at a decent pace. More one-shots may pop up every so often, but I am not planning on doing any other multi-chapter stories before this one hits a certain tipping point in the story. Echo Chamber may also update sometime this week, but I am somewhat undecided on if I want to continue that anytime soon for various reasons. One of those reasons is that I have an idea for an Emerald chapter, but I don't want to pull the trigger on that until Volume 6 is over, given how her arc is going. We'll see what happens.

 **-RD**


	4. Like Ice

As Sun reentered the bedroom, he found Blake standing next to the door to the balcony and pulling it closed. He was thankful for her initiative, as the room seemed to have gotten even colder as the night had dragged on. With the thick paper door closed, the room descended into a heavy shade of darkness, though both faunus present were able to see each other perfectly well. Their eyes locked, and Blake began to make her way back to the bed with silent steps as she kept her gaze held upon him.

"Better?"

"I think so, yeah. A lot of things just kinda started to build up, and I got a little overwhelmed," he replied. Sun joined his friend upon the bed, and sat on the edge with his legs crossed while she took up her previous position in the center. The two simply stared at each other for a while, Blake looking unsure and Sun looking tired, until she decided to speak.

"…I think I understand. There have been a few times on this trip where I wanted to… do _that_ , too. What were you doing out in the halls, though?"

Sun frowned a little, knowing that he would have to lie… though he didn't need to lie about _everything_ he'd been doing.

"Well, I was looking for you, actually. I know you've been upset and anxious for most of the day, and I know I didn't exactly help that, when your parents brought us in for tea."

Blake raised a hand to stop his words, and for a moment, Sun was very much reminded of her father's dismissive gesturing. Hers, however, was slower. Softer. Driven by concern, rather than annoyance.

"Sun… it's fine. It was just awkward, because we haven't seen each other in so long. Well, that, and the fact that my dad is a huge dork."

The monkey faunus let his tail sweep gently along the wooden floor as he listened intently. "I wouldn't say that, I'd just say he's… protective of you. _Very_ protective, and maybe a little worried."

"But I don't _need_ protection!" Blake's ears flattened as her voice strained with the words. Sun fell silent, and gave her the opportunity to continue. It was nearly a full minute before she took it. During that time, she rubbed gingerly at the exposed flesh of her left arm, and stared down into her lap. "I mean… without you, I may never have made it here, but we worked together. We had each other's backs, and that's how it's been for a while now. My dad wants to shelter me from everything, especially now that I came back after he was right about the White Fang, but I don't need him to shield me. Especially not from you."

A whole host of mixed feelings swirled within Sun's chest, and he felt lighter than air. It seemed that Blake was at least partially on his side, though he knew that he needed to play his cards carefully… especially when minor deceptions were to be involved.

"Blake… give him a little credit. If I was in his position, I probably would've acted the same w-"

"No, Sun, I don't think you would have. That's what I wanted to talk to you about- your behavior." At her words, he reached up and begin to scratch at the back of his head. He tried to keep his expression neutral, but he had serious trouble fighting back a slight frown. He had been talked to about 'his behavior' multiple times in the past, usually from his professors, and he had a feeling he knew where the conversation was about to go.

He was wrong.

"Sun… ever since I set out, you've been watching over me, and keeping me safe, but you do it without smothering me. I don't think I've ever just said… thanks?" Blake's ears perked ever so slightly from their flattened position, and she looked up at him with a bashful glance. " _Yes_ , I was annoyed at first, because I figured you were trying to sweep in and play the hero, but everything you've done has been out of support, instead of trying to 'rescue' me. That's really all I want, especially right now. I don't want you to think I haven't noticed, or that it isn't appreciated."

Sun was never the quickest at processing information, and the unveiled praise from his object of affection seeped through his mind with little urgency. It took him far, _far_ too long to accept what the words meant, especially coming from _Blake_ of all people, and he was unable to parse just how much his actions meant to her. After a good ten seconds of silence, a subtle blush found host upon his cheeks, and he resumed the scratching of his head that he hadn't realized had stopped.

"Aw, Blake, it's… nothing. Nothing at all," Sun unintentionally lied. In truth, he had spent a great deal of time and energy worrying about how much support was _too_ much for her, and obsessively reviewing his actions around her. "I just… do my thing, and try my best to help out. 'cause I care." That part, at least, was true.

"I know. I care, too. I'm not great at showing it, but I want to start, a little more." Blake shifted onto her knees, sinking a bit into the mattress as she did so. She hesitated, before rolling her shoulders in a catlike motion. "Lay down for me?"

For the second time that night, Sun found his body on autopilot as he slipped his legs and tail up onto the bed and flopped onto his stomach, facing the foot of the bed. He folded his arms beneath his head, hoping that Blake wouldn't ask him to transition to laying on his back. Fortunately, she didn't, and instead moved to straddle his lower back. Part of Sun wanted to cry out in surprise, and another, specific part of him felt like it may well burst into flame. His mind screamed at him to press her for her feelings toward him, but against his desires, he held back.

"Uh, Blake, whatcha doing back there…?"

"Hopefully easing your mind. If you make this awkward, I _will_ leave." A pair of icy hands found its way to the top of Sun's shoulders, and he tensed horribly as he tried to get used to the sensation, and the incredible feeling of Blake _atop_ him.

"Yep, shutting up now," he cut in, before feeling a harsh slap across the back of his head. " _Hey!_ I thought you were trying to make me feel better?"

"If you go silent on me, that's going to make this so much worse. Just… talk to me, alright? Is your stomach feeling any better?" Blake began to knead at his aching muscles, and the motions reminded him a bit of a cat sharpening her claws against a post.

"Much. You sure you're alright with this?"

"I would be, if you'd just relax. Your back feels like a rock," she retorted. Sun took a deep breath, and made a conscious effort to simply let go of all of his pent-up misgivings and feelings. So _what_ if Ghira walked in on them? He wouldn't attack him in front of Blake.

Probably.

"So, Blake, uh… you said we needed to go shopping?"

"Yes." She continued to knead and pull at his muscles, working expertly to turn his back into what felt like putty. Sun fought back the urge to let out a moan, knowing that it would just elicit another slap, and counted his blessings that she couldn't see the front of his shorts at that moment. "They may be my parents, but we're not freeloading off of them during our stay."

"Yeah, I get it. I'll pitch in, too." Sun squirmed a bit, before letting out a sigh of content.

"That better not mean stealing, Sun. This is my hometown, and if my parents find out about that side of you… you're getting kicked out. I won't, and _can't_ stop that." She pressed her palms into the small of his back, just between her thighs, and he felt something pop. He groaned and closed his eyes.

"You're… _really_ good at this, Blake," he offered, only to receive an unseen roll of yellow eyes behind him. "And hey, I haven't stolen since I started following you, and I wouldn't do that here. Promise." _Or ever again, since it upsets you_ _,_ he thought to himself.

It was a vow that he knew he would likely have trouble keeping, but for her? It was worth it.

"Okay." She paused, her palms resting heavily against his spine, where they had elicited a satisfying _pop_ before. Sun knew that such a moment meant no talking, and he closed his eyes to help settle into position. Muffled sounds of island insects filtered through the paper door to the balcony, and the muted, heavy sound of wind rushing against the side of the house helped to fill the silence. Finally, she spoke once again, though it took an eternity for her to get three simple words out.

"I… _trust_ you."

In all of his time with Blake, Sun had come to learn what a big deal the T word was with her, and he knew that she wasn't a fan of making moments stand out, positive or otherwise. He simply smiled into his arm, satisfied with the admission. It was a step. A _big_ step. Her hands started to move again, tracing their way up and under his shoulder blades.

"I feel the same way. Let's just live one day at a time, for now, and we'll figure out the future when we get there. Sound good?" His tail started to move slowly back and forth, following its own willpower. Sun let out a massive yawn, and began to feel himself slipping away.

"That's what I would prefer, yes. I have a lot to discuss with my parents, and I _want_ to discuss almost none of it. Not to mention, the White Fang being on the island…"

"Hey," Sun interrupted with a groggy drawl. "You just said one step at a time. We'll run errands, and then you can take a day to sort things out with your parents. If you want to talk afterward, about some things you _do_ want to discuss with me, I'm always ready to listen." Another yawn broke through the night air, and Sun turned his head to the side before resting it once again against his forearm.

"Maybe," Blake said. Slowly and carefully, she lowered herself down atop his back, and pressed her chest against his muscles. She traced her hands around his shoulders once again, before trailing them down his arms and stopping near his elbows. Blake leaned in close to his ear, and whispered.

"… _Sun?_ "

Blake waited, her breath heavy in her chest as she remained in place. All that she received in return was the sound of a gentle snore.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The story has only just begun. I feel that at this point I should probably mention that I intend to follow the events of RWBY canon _loosely_ , and I have a definite endgame for this story in mind. Expect a rollercoaster ride and more than just cushy romance as things get moving.

 **-RD**


	5. For Future Reference

Sun stretched with a groan, as the first shafts of morning sunlight filtered through the balcony door and landed in a searing band directly across his closed eyes. He blinked several times and brought a hand up to shield himself from the oppressive morning rays.

"Stupid… _sun_ …" he grumbled, before the irony of his statement sunk in. Stupid Sun _indeed_.

He pushed down into the mattress in a push-up motion and rose to his feet to take in his surroundings while standing atop the bed. Morning had broken, and Blake was nowhere to be seen. The balcony door had been cracked, and Sun hopped off the bed to go and investigate. He pulled back on the wooden frame only to be blinded by the rising sun, and brought up an entire arm to shield his eyes.

A wolf whistle greeted him from somewhere below on the dirt road outside of the mansion, and for once, Sun had no urge to play it up for the ladies. Without thinking, he found himself rolling his eyes and turning to walk back into the bedroom while closing the door behind himself. Nothing about being ogled by strangers felt particularly attractive to him anymore.

He had fallen _hard_ for Blake, and the phantom memory of her touch traced its way down his back once again. His flesh began to shiver as he perfectly recreated where her hands had traced in his mind, and what was either a memory or dream of her resting atop him as he slept. Either way, it was a feeling that he wouldn't let go for a _long_ time.

Sun made his way across the room and to the closed bathroom door, before knocking on the wooden wall beside it. "Blake?" he questioned. After a good ten seconds of waiting for a response, he tried the handle and found the door unlocked. Sun stepped inside and instinctively reached for the toothbrush that was no longer there, on account of having particles of vomit worked into the bristles.

 _Stupid Sun_.

With morning breath lingering in his mouth, he undid his zipper and quickly took care of morning business before pausing in front of the toilet. Carefully, he leaned backward a bit on his right leg, and lifted his left foot to push down the flush handle. Sun smirked as he returned to a normal standing position to watch the tainted water swirl away.

Perhaps Blake was on to something. Maybe it was just a cute mannerism that she had adopted, since most situations that involved flushing a toilet necessitated the washing of hands _regardless_ of how it was flushed. Either way, the action reminded him of her, and so, he planned to add the quirk to his repertoire of habits.

Sun made one final stop by the sink to wash his hands, and scoop a handful of water into his mouth to try to wash out the taste of sleep. With partial success, he ruffled a hand through his hair before sneaking a quick glance at the shower on his left. No towel, no shampoo, and no soap waited for him in or around the area. It would have to wait until he could find Blake.

Or her parents.

A ripple of tension and nausea climbed through Sun's body, starting in his toes and snaking its way up into the pit of his stomach. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Those sensations needed to stop, if he was going to make progress. Every mention or thought of Ghira couldn't bring him anxiety, if he was going to work his way into becoming a part of the Belladonna family. Sun clenched his fists, and shifted his mind back to Blake. He felt the tracing of fingers upon his back again, and opened his eyes.

It was worth it, for _her_.

Sun offered his reflection a nod before whirling on his heel and heading for his clothing that lay strewn about the room. Funnily enough, his shirt seemed to have fallen from the back of the chair on which he had left it onto the coffee table clear on the other side of the room. He raised a brow at the sight, before scooping it up and pulling the garment on with a mental shrug. Maybe the wind from the balcony door had been strong enough to send it floating.

His bracers were next, before he stepped into his shoes on the way to the door. Finally 'fully' dressed, he pushed the sliding screen aside and walked out into the hall, only to be assaulted by the smell of breakfast food. Sun's stomach lurched, though in a good way. He made his way forward and toward a wide staircase on his right, easily large enough to accommodate three people standing side by side. As he descended the steps, the aroma grew stronger, and so did his desire to fill the rather large hole in his stomach.

The mansion looked quite different in the daylight, and Sun found himself in a large, cube-shaped room after descending the stairs from the upper terrace. Like most of the house, the walls were all wooden, and massive cylindrical columns supported a balcony that stretched all the way around the edges.

On the ground floor, several tables and chairs were spread out to give the impression of a large dining hall suited to play host to parties. Sun ran his hand along one of the tables as he walked past it, and looked up at the tapestries and lights affixed to the upper walls. He had never really bothered to absorb the details of the mansion before, and only then did he appreciate just how much _money_ Blake's family must have had. While the idea of living large and no longer having to scrounge for food _did_ appeal to him, Blake's touch, smile, and company were the real prize.

Unfamiliar with his surroundings as he was, Sun paused and let his tail brush lightly against the wooden floor as he tried to determine the origin of the heavenly aroma of bacon. No less than six doors surrounded him on each side, and in his wandering, he had even lost track of which of the two staircases to the upper terrace he had descended. It was going to be a _long_ stay in Kuo Kuana.

Sun grew fed up with trying to use logic to solve his problem as the sensation of ravenous hunger brought forth a ferocious growl from his stomach. He walked toward the door on the left on the wall before him, and slid it back to reveal a girl with cat ears hard at work in the kitchen. Sun blinked, and realized his mistake- not a girl, but a _woman_.

Kali Belladonna stood shorter than her daughter, but her maturity was obvious throughout her entire being. From the way she carried herself to her more mature figure to the husky, almost sultry tone of voice she used, everything about her screamed _adult_ to Sun, and not always in a way that he was comfortable with. After all, she had spent half of their initial meeting eyeing him up and making comments about him to Blake, and her eyes started at his abs before trailing up to meet his own as Sun walked into the kitchen.

"Mrs. B? Oh, hey there, I was just looking for Blake."

A smirk curled at the edge of the older woman's lips as she ran a soapy rag around the perimeter of the frying pan in her hand, before lowering it into the waiting water that filled the nearby sink.

"Of course you were. She and Ghira are having a little chat in the room on the other side of the kitchen. Help yourself to some of the leftovers," Kali said. She inclined her head to a pile of what appeared to be every breakfast food in recorded history atop a metal tray. "None of us wanted to wake you before you were ready. The trip must have been exhausting."

Sun willed himself not to drool as he eyed up the tray of pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, toast, and other foods waiting just feet away. As he heard Kali speak, he made the decision to set aside his hunger for what could only be seen as the greater good.

"I didn't mean to sleep so long, actually. Here, let me help you out, first." Sun reached for a dirty plate that was resting on the counter and moved to take his place by Kali, who gave him an amused look.

"Yes, cleaning up messes you didn't make does seem to be your style, doesn't it, Sun?"

He looked down at her, trying to place a meaning behind her words as he turned on the adjacent sink and began to wash the plate in his hands. Just how much did she know about Blake's past... and what he'd been doing with her daughter?

"…I guess you could say that, Mrs. B." Sun thought it best to simply agree, rather than push for details. While Blake's mind was still a bit of a mystery to him, he got the distinct feeling that Kali's could be a carefully-prepared trap, and he wasn't sure what she'd do with him if he made the mistake of getting caught.

"Please. Call me Kali. I'm still young enough to have a little fun," she inclined as she put a dish down into the soapy water to soak. She fixed him with half-lidded eyes as he worked on cleaning his second plate, and Sun gave her a nervous grin.

"Uh, sure!" In a panicked state, Sun began fishing through his mind for a way to change the topic. There was _nothing_ fun about his situation at that moment, and he suddenly felt the need to either deflect Kali's train of thought, or physically leave the room. "So, Blake and I are gonna go pick some stuff up for the house. Is there anything you need, that you can think of?"

"Hm," Kali began. "I'm usually the type to know what I want once I see it." She made a show of putting her pointer finger to her lower lip as she turned to face Sun. The boy found himself holding his breath as he wondered where exactly she planned to place that finger next. He grit his teeth as he found the digit planted firmly into the center of his chest while Kali looked up at him with an unreadable expression as she spoke once again.

"In fact, I think I'm going to tell Blake to let _me_ handle the little shopping run. She and Ghira have been at odds for a long time, and seeing them talk like this is too good of an opportunity to heal a bit of that damage for me to interrupt. You could use the time to get familiar with the house… or even join them," she finished.

Something about hearing him referred to as _Ghira_ made Blake's father seem even scarier to Sun, and the notion of interrupting a conversation between him and Blake was just about the last thing Sun wanted to do. Wandering the house alone also seemed like a recipe for trouble, and so, he offered the one remaining option that he could think of.

"I'll come with you! It seems like there's a lot to be picked up if we're staying for a bit, and I don't mind covering some of it and helping you carry." As Kali gave him a toothy smile, Sun was no longer sure that he had chosen the lesser of evils.

"Well, aren't you sweet? I'll go and grab my card. You busy yourself with some food while I'm away, and then we'll head out to see what we can get our hands on." Kali swayed her hips as she made her way to a door at the opposite end of the kitchen, before looking over her shoulder. "Speaking of," she began, "Blake _loves_ having her ears touched. Just a little something for the future." She shot him a wink, and Sun's cheeks flared as he struggled to come up with a response. He failed to find one before she disappeared.

As his face continued to burn up at the thought of following through with Kali's words, he reached for a clean glass from beside the sink and immediately turned on the faucet to fill it with icy water. He downed the liquid in a few desperate gulps, and set the glass back down onto the counter as he raised his hands to touch his cheeks.

Suddenly, Blake's personality began to make a lot more sense to Sun, and he started to wonder just what he was in for if they continued to grow closer.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** It's just not a party until Kali shows up.

 **-RD**


	6. Pressure Cooker

The White Fang campgrounds were eerily silent that morning. The occasional noise of wind filtering through the trees and infrequent, hushed whispers among the tents were the only thing that filled the area otherwise devoid of noise. A few masked men and women sat around on tree stumps, looking worriedly at each other as they awaited the inevitable opening of the tent flaps of their commander. For hours, no such rustling came.

Adam Taurus stood in equal silence, staring over a spread of files set out upon the table before him. Open folders marked 'CLASSIFIED' in thick red ink lay strewn about, discarded onto the ground and surface of the desk without care for their supposed classification. All that mattered to the pensive bull was the contents within the folders- not which _humans_ were allowed to see them. In his mind, the idea of anything being classified among the inferior species was laughable. The majority of their crimes were already laid bare- their problems weren't a matter of secrecy, but _apathy_.

The faunus were used as little more than mindless dust mining machines, and if one, or two, or more were to perish going after a particularly rich vein, the public was more than willing to turn a blind eye. Adam knew it to be true from firsthand experience- he had personally watched comrades, friends, and even family disappear under a torrent of rock as their pickaxes struck at a structurally unsafe point. A point that he himself had begged them not to mine, only to receive a thorough lashing across the back with a whip from a human male.

The tall, bearded man had worn a white suit emblazoned with 'SDC' and a snowflake emblem across the lapel- the signature of a higher-up in the chain of command. The kind of man that would stand outside of the mine and bark orders while pointing angrily at a crudely-drawn map of the known tunnels, before sending Adam and his brethren down into the cramped spaces to their eventual deaths.

When the order that had cost him so much had been given, Adam vowed to turn that white suit into a shade of dark crimson before he left the mine. He had made good on his promise, and the rush of adrenaline as he watched the man's stomach open as he laid pleading upon the ground was one of his fondest memories. That memory came with an important lesson, and a proof of concept in Adam's mind.

Begging hadn't prevented that cave-in, when it came from him. Begging hadn't saved that man from the blood-red blade that ripped across his belly in furious retaliation.

Adam was _done_ with begging.

He stood quietly over the desk, processing the information he had gleaned about the layout of Haven Academy from the documents that his employers had provided. Key information was missing, and Adam found himself unsurprised. He _hated_ them, all of them- from his employers, to the inevitable victims of his budding plan, to his most loathed and final target among humans- the Schnee family. Nothing had gone as it should have, not even preparations to strike the heart of Haven itself.

Adam narrowed his eyes as he stared down through his mask at a red envelope bearing no name, address, or markings. Perhaps the answers he needed were within.

He hesitated momentarily, and let his hand drift down to the sword strapped to his hip. If all that awaited him was another disappointment, he knew that he would fly into a rage. How many times had he asked for more detail? How many requests would it take before he was given the order to strike at a human landmark and ignite the flames of revolution in Mistral? Adam felt that he had been kept at bay and held back for far too long after the fall of Beacon, and his patience had been shaved down to a razor thin line.

With a frown, he placed his thumb behind the guard of his sword and popped it forward, partially out of its sheath. Adam took a deep breath through his nostrils, before using his pointer finger to slide the blade back inside with a satisfying _click_. The nervous habit had become something of a comfort, or more realistically, a last effort to quell his anger to the spiteful faunus, and all in the encampment knew to steer clear of him when the signature clicking began. He popped the sword, listening to the steel scraping against the inside of the sheath again, before clicking it back into place.

The pattern repeated over and over as Adam felt his rage building. He _knew_ what he was going to find within that envelope, and it wasn't at all what he wanted.

Scrape. _Click_. Scrape. _Click_. Scrape. _Click_.

It was the only thing he could think to do to stave off an outburst for a few precious seconds. Once upon a time, there had been a faunus girl who _had_ managed to calm him, on occasion, but she was long gone.

Adam found that turning a mostly black outfit to red was proving _far_ more difficult than what he had done to that white suit. In time, though, every scrap of cloth, every strip of flesh, and those piercing, yellow eyes would drown in scarlet for what she had done to him. He would make certain of it.

Scrape. _Click_. Scrape. _Click_. Scrape. _Click_.

Adam heaved one final breath before using his left hand to pick up the matte envelope and bring it to eye level. He paused his calming ritual to raise the other and grasp the back of the folded paper and slit the wax seal, before letting it flutter unsatisfyingly to the floor. Adam grit his teeth as he began to read the same sentence that he had seen time and time again after requesting an update, scrawled once again in the neat, looping script of the woman he despised almost more than any other.

" _Your orders remain the same at present- keep your men at the ready until the Queen wills otherwise._

 _-C."_

Adam let out a guttural, drawn-out cry of fury as he dropped the letter from his grip and immediately transferred his right hand to the hilt of his waiting sword. With a single slash, the desk became two, and an echoing crash rang out as splintered wood, fluttering papers, and the sound of ragged, furious breathing brought the inside of the tent to life. Adam whirled in place with another cry and drew his katana across the surface of the painted map of Remnant hanging upon the wall of the tent behind him, leaving a long, jagged slash across the entirety of Mistral.

The papers finally submitted to the will of gravity and settled upon the dirt floor, and the only sound that remained after the momentary crescendo was labored breathing.

Adam remained in stance, katana flared dramatically out to his side as he closed his eyes amid shuddering breaths. He waited, knowing that what he wanted would never come. Not so long ago, the tent flaps would have rustled, and her voice would have reached him through the blinding curtain of rage that clouded his shuttered vision.

 _"Adam? Adam! What happened?"_

He could feel her hands snaking around his torso and finding their home upon his chest as her own pressed against his heaving back.

 _"Talk to me. What happened? Why are you upset? We can get through this, together."_

He _needed_ her. Revolution, revenge, even his eventual place atop the throne of all of Remnant as a harsh and fanatical dictator would mean nothing, if she was not there to understand him. To help _him_ understand himself.

Her hands would trace along his upper chest, before snaking down around his waist as her chin came up to rest upon his shoulder. The deep, husky scent of her perfume would lazily trail its way up to his nostrils, and he would begin to calm once again.

 _"I'm not judging you. I know this isn't easy, and things keep getting in your way. Come on. Lay with me."_

But it was not meant to be. There would be no rustling of tent flaps, gentle, hesitant touches, or reassuring words. Never again would she lay beside him, cuddling into his chest and pressing softly against his skin in an effort to calm him down with her icy embrace. All that was left to him was his blade, and his vision of the future. Adam's upper lip twitched as he opened his eyes and admitted to himself the truth that he thought he had accepted time and time again.

He returned the blade to its waiting sheath with another _click_ and turned to survey the damage. Another desk would be needed. One of his subjects would provide, and all he needed to force the acquisition was to loom in the entrance of the tent of some unlucky faunus. They would fall over themselves to please him, and offer up what they had for their leader. Whether out of fear or respect, it hardly mattered anymore. To Adam, the ideal option was _both_.

With a scowl, he stooped briefly to grab for a sheet of unmarked paper before he made his way out of the tent and into the clearing of the White Fang encampment. Several masked figures were frozen in place, staring in his direction as they wondered just what the noises from within his tent could have been.

 _Let them wonder_ , he thought to himself. _Let them_ _ **fear**_ _me._

Adam narrowed his eyes as he scanned the line of tents that made up his base of operations, and settled upon a shelter of dark green canvas. He set out at a brisk pace, walking with purpose as he made his way to the unlucky target. It was time for a _new_ sort of letter, with a tone far removed from those he had written in the past.

Adam was _done_ with begging.

* * *

Sun stared down at his Scroll, watching with a tingly feeling of anticipation as he waited on the staircase just outside the doorstep of the Belladonna manor, a half-eaten strip of bacon hanging from his mouth. Over and over, he reread what he had sent before pulling the rest of the meat into his mouth and beginning to chew.

 _"Hey Blake- your mom and I are headed out to take care of the shopping, so you can stay with your dad. I think she's got a pretty good idea of what we need, and we can handle the lien to cover it together later. Lemme know if you want anything specific picked up. I'll keep an eye out for tuna."_

The message ended with a small icon of his own face sticking its tongue out. Sun had debated back and forth whether or not to include the little flair, and eventually reasoned that it just wouldn't be _him_ if it had been excluded. Everything he had done for her had been a leap of faith for her sake. Why shouldn't he start taking a few for himself?

The three dots that indicated an incoming response finally relented, and Sun felt his breathing stop as the message came through. All that he received in response to the message that he had checked and obsessed over again and again as he rushed through breakfast was a black heart, topped with cat ears.

It was _more_ than enough.

Sun's cheeks felt hot as a wide, stupid grin took up residence firmly upon his features. He couldn't bring himself to close the message as he heard footsteps from behind, and even with Kali's voice interrupting his thoughts, the euphoric feeling of pins and needles remained in his face and chest.

"…my gods, you've broken her walls to the point of little heart texts. I never thought I'd see the day."

The older woman leaned over Sun's shoulder, snooping into the conversation while perched upon the step above his own. Though he didn't know just why, Sun found no need to tell her off or close the conversation. Even with his embarrassment at being caught, nothing could rob him of the feeling of warmth in his heart.

"This is the first one, actually. I'm just glad that she seems _happy_ in general, for the first time since we've met." Sun turned his head to try to face her, before settling on going down another step and turning to look her over fully. Kali carried a large basket at hip height, with a long leather strap looped up and around her opposite shoulder. "Here, let me take that, Mrs. B. Just point, and I'll scoop up whatever we need." Sun snapped his scroll closed and stored it in the back left pocket of his shorts. He waited with outstretched arms, but Kali didn't move.

"It's quite fine. Again- call me Kali. I can handle some groceries. You're just here to keep me entertained, really," she added with a sly smirk.

"Right, sorry. Uh… _Kali_. That's gonna be a little hard to get used to." Sun dropped his arms down to his sides. "Are we good to go?"

Kali descended the steps with a slow, purposeful gait and joined Sun's side, smirk intact. "Absolutely. Now, why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself, and Blake's team?"

Sun fell into step at Kali's side as she set out and slid his hands into his pockets as he walked, thinking of how to answer. The figure that had been watching them from its perch in a nearby tree launched itself from the straining branch and landed with a roll into a patch of tall grass. With muted footsteps, they narrowed their eyes and moved to follow.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I am of the opinion that Adam is by far the most mismanaged character in the entire show, and absolutely full of wasted potential. Everything _about_ Adam is insanely cool, but he, himself, is not. I'll be writing a multi-chapter story in which Adam plays a larger role sometime in the future, likely once this has ended, but he will be playing a role in this story as well. As far as a certain set of bombshell spoilers regarding him go, I will not be mentioning them at all in this story until it reaches a certain scene that is quite far away. I'll drop a warning for Volume 6 spoilers in the author's note of the chapter before the one in which they are mentioned.

 **-RD**


	7. Sticky Fingers

"…where do I even begin?" Sun began.

Countless options drifted through the young male's thoughts as the two set out onto the dirt paths of Kuo Kuana at a leisurely pace. Would it have been best to start with himself, or Blake? Team RWBY, or how he and Blake had met? All possibilities seemed equally valid to Sun, but he had a strange feeling that Kali wanted to know more about _him_. And so, he started with Blake to quell the growing worry that the elder faunus might have intentions that Sun wasn't willing to entertain.

"Well, Blake's become an incredible fighter, and grown a lot on the battlefield even since we met, which wasn't _too_ long ago. A couple of months. We've fought together quite a bit, and she usually takes the lead when it's just us," Sun admitted with a sheepish grin. The fact had never occurred to him until that moment, and yet, it made perfect sense with his attitude of letting her set their pace.

"I'm glad to hear it. It's a skill she's going to need, I'm afraid. She was always talented, even as a young girl, but she had some trouble mastering her semblance. Mostly because she thought it was… 'lame', in her words," Kali emphasized the word with a devilish smirk, and shot Sun a sideways glance as they entered the market.

" _Lame?_ Well, she definitely doesn't think that now," he replied. "I've actually started to take some inspiration from how she uses her doubles with my own. Our semblances are similar, in some ways- I can project multiple copies of myself, but I can't move while doing it. That part kinda sucks, sometimes."

Kali made a contemplative noise as she focused her attention upon the open-air marketplace, and Sun took the momentary pause as an opportunity to take it all in.

Wooden stalls, each manned by a vendor, stretched as far as he could see on the road ahead, placed on either side of the dirt path. Each had its own sign and canvas roof, and most of the material was elaborately decorated. Sun supposed that the owners of the small stands were likely competing with each other to have the flashiest, most eye-catching roof in order to draw more customers, given some of the patterns and logos he saw. Even as he and his companion were still a good distance from the closest stall, multiple salespeople were waving enthusiastically in their direction and beckoning them to come and survey the goods.

"…do you think a semblance can tell you something about its owner, Sun?"

"Wha-… _huh?_ " he replied with great eloquence. Sun had been too distracted by a goat-horned faunus dressed in a giant foam papaya costume and shilling fresh fruit at the top of their lungs to pay the conversation any mind. "I'm sorry, what was the question?"

Kali cast her eyes to the desperate, dancing man before locking them back on Sun with a smile. "You'll get used to it. Vendors here tend to pull out all the stops to attract customers… or, somewhat often, their children, in hopes that the screaming little vermin will tug their parents along to whatever stand needs business most. Kuo Kuana isn't exactly a rich settlement, so spectacle is important for competition."

Sun merely nodded and made an effort to peel his eyes from the distracting fruit. "Right. I really didn't mean to ignore you, though."

Kali waved a hand dismissively as she led him toward the very fruit stand and picked out a few choice oranges. She scrutinized each one carefully before adding them to her basket and handing over a few lien to the grateful vendor.

"Your semblance. What do you think it says about you? I believe that a semblance is tied to the user on a level more than just what they're good at, or how they fight. That may seem obvious when you think about some people… but not necessarily with others. Have you given it any thought?" she asked, with a tilt of her head.

Sun tilted his own in response- he really hadn't. In his mind, the ability to project glittering, bright clones of himself was just 'what he did' rather than a statement about himself as a person.

"Not… really, no. I unlocked it when I was pretty young, and I've been doing it ever since. It started as a cool trick to show friends on the playground, and I just started adding more clones to my repertoire over time."

"None of that surprises me, at all. I think it says a lot about you," Kali began as she set out once again onto the dirt, seemingly with a destination in mind. "You know, Blake and I talked quite a bit about you over breakfast. She said you got sick last night, and chalked it up to nerves. Is that true?"

Again, Kali looked over her shoulder and into Sun's eyes, and the boy found himself both intimidated and comforted by her gaze. To Sun, Kali radiated a motherly aura both protective and fierce, not just of her daughter- but strangely enough, of _him_. Something about her eyes made him feel like he could tell her anything.

"Yes… Kali, that is true. It was a combination of a lot of things, but… yeah. Nerves."

"Well, I hope my husband isn't giving you any trouble, or making it worse."

Sun felt his insides slip down and hit the dirt in a wet, cold mass, and thanked his lucky stars as Kali turned her head to focus once again on the path ahead. Perhaps he couldn't tell her _everything_.

"No! No, not at all. He seems really nice… and protective of Blake, but I get it. It's no big deal." Sun managed to talk around the issue with a bit of effort, and allowed himself to lag behind his escort in hopes that she wouldn't look at him. Fortunately, Kali busied herself with inspecting the goods offered at another stand rather than his facial expressions.

"Good. Ghira and I are very much in love, but that also means that I know his faults all too well. If he _does_ bother you, or makes you feel uncomfortable, I'd like you to tell me. I'll put him in his place for you." Kali bent to retrieve something from a basket upon the counter of the stand, and Sun's eyes widened as he processed her words. As she turned to face him, holding her prize of a roll of toilet paper, Sun was afraid that he might need to use it then and there as he forced a wide smile.

"Oh! That won't be necessary, really!"

"I hope that it doesn't _become_ necessary, either," Kali added as she placed the goods into her basket. She turned to face him fully, and folded her arms beneath her chest as her tone shifted from one of ice to something warmer. Something befitting her motherly 'aura'.

"I think your semblance suits you, Sun. You literally throw yourself out there to help others in need, and meanwhile, you leave yourself vulnerable. You'll invest all of your energy to help a friend regardless of what danger it puts you in, physically or emotionally, and you probably _expect_ to take a hit or two for their sake. Given what I've seen of you thus far, I'd wager that you've thrown it out several times without thinking, and ended up seriously hurt because of it? All that mattered in that desperate moment was another's well-being, and anything you may do to put those you care about in jeopardy is a mortal sin, in your mind. The kind that might drive you to vomit, even if it's over something so simple as embarrassing them. Does that sound about right?" Kali finished by lifting her right hand and opening her palm upward, her fingers splayed to point sideways in an inquisitive gesture.

Sun was getting quite tired of feeling as though he was under a microscope at that point, but found that he could do little more than nod. "Yeah. That's… yeah." He let out a heavy sigh, crossing his own arms in response. "And I'm sure you know that all of that goes double, for Blake."

"I do," Kali offered in a sympathetic tone. She closed the distance between them with a single step, and raised her right hand to his left shoulder. Unlike Blake, her touch was incredibly warm, but still nearly as soothing. "I want you to _relax_ , Sun. Enjoy your time here, with us. If I'm reading you correctly, then being around Ghira and I has your asshole tighter than your abs." Kali gave Sun yet another knowing, dirty smirk. Sun almost choked in return, but raised a hand to his mouth and took a moment to compose himself.

"…you could say that, yeah."

"Well, there's no reason for it. Even if Ghira doesn't see the good in you yet, he will eventually, and I do right now. If you truly care about our daughter, whether in a friendly or romantic sense, then you have nothing at all to fear from us. Breathe a little more. _Smile_ a little more. That worried and hesitant expression doesn't look nearly as attractive, and you're out to impress, aren't you?"

Sun heaved another great sigh and dropped his arms awkwardly to his sides. He had to admit that Kali had a point, and though it wouldn't be easy, he resolved to take her words to heart.

"…thanks, Kali. I just need a little time to adjust."

"Maybe you and Blake should go out on the town, tonight or tomorrow. After all, she may have run to us… but she clings to you, now. Why don't you go and hunt down some toiletries, while I deal with the rest of the food? We can meet up back where we started," Kali said with a roll of her neck as she dropped the arm from Sun's shoulder.

"Yeah, sure. That sounds good. All of that sounds good," he nodded. For the first time, Sun gave her a genuine smile, and Kali returned the gesture in kind, followed by a wink before she sauntered her way toward another stand. Sun stood and watched her begin to haggle for a moment before deciding that he definitely did _not_ envy the vendor.

With renewed resolve and a lighter step, Sun began his own private journey among the stalls. He edged and slipped his way through the crowd of faunus as he began his search, rubbing shoulders and sliding between them as he went. Several were members of hybrid species he had never seen before, and for the first time since their arrival in Kuo Kuana, he found himself in his element once again. How easy it would have been to lift a wallet, or swipe an apple from a basket or countertop…

Sun shook his head to banish the tempting thoughts from his mind as he came to a realization; none of the stalls seemed to be in any sort of order. A vendor hawking magazines was adjacent to another trying to sell watermelons, while the third in line sold house plants before the final in that row was filled completely with stacks of wheat. Sun reached into his pocket and took out his scroll to take a few pictures of the individual stands and capture a panorama of the massive market. Despite, or perhaps, _because_ of the chaos, it was a memory that he wanted to keep even after he and Blake left Kuo Kuana. In contrast to the horrors of Beacon that he and Team RWBY had endured not so long ago, Kuo Kuana felt _alive_.

As he put his scroll back, the realization that he was getting nowhere hit Sun like a truck, and so, he decided to ask a random passerby for help. It took him all of a second to decide on a likely candidate, and he settled upon a bulky looking woman with dark skin and odd orange and white spines on her upper arms, who was carrying a basket full of small fish.

"Hey, 'scuse me! I'm kinda new in town. Any idea where I could find shampoo, toothbrushes… that kind of thing?" Sun offered his best smile, and the woman quirked a brow as she hiked a thumb out and to the right. Sun followed the gesture to a stand a good fifty feet away, and found the helpful woman gone by the time he looked back. "Oh. Well… thanks," he said to no one in particular as the crowd filled the gap where she had once stood.

Sun walked for the stand with purpose, and kept his eyes locked on the goal as he again worked his way through the crowd. As he neared the stall, he turned sideways to slide past a woman carrying a basket on her head only to feel a heavy impact directly into his chest as he emerged past the obstruction. Sun stumbled and rapidly took a few steps back to keep his balance, while the one who had run into him fell backward into the dirt with an annoyed, high-pitched whine.

" _Hey!_ Watch yourself!"

Sun immediately looked down to see who had run into him, and found a young-looking girl clad in what seemed to be a black one piece outfit with golden buckles sitting in the dirt with her hands behind herself. She had piercing blue eyes, and her rich brown hair was tied back in a long ponytail that ended in a curl. Her skin was pocked with scales on her face, arms, and legs, with a few cut off as they disappeared up and into her outfit. She glowered up at him as her cheeks began to turn a violent shade of red… and then, so did the rest of her face, neck, and all of her exposed skin.

"Whoa, I'm sorry. That was probably my fault," Sun stated with a cringe. He offered his hand, and the girl took it and tugged hard to pull herself up from the ground. "I was in a hurry, and didn't see you coming."

"Whatever. It's fine, I guess. Just pay more attention," she shot back, annoyed. The girl began to dust off her outfit with her hands as her skin returned to its normal shade.

"Will do. Can I make it up to you? What are you here for?" Sun started, trying his best to sound non-threatening. The shorter girl was having none of it, and her expression kept its venom.

"Probably not, and why do you care?"

"Because I inconvenienced you." Sun looked over his shoulder at the stand behind himself, and hiked a thumb backward. "Are you here for bathroom supplies, too?"

The girl huffed and rolled her eyes as she stepped forward to the counter. " _Yes._ " Sun turned to follow her path and watched as she grew increasingly annoyed. The vendor was dealing with several other customers and paying her no mind as she tapped her foot into the dirt, waiting. The girl stood on her tiptoes and tried to wave to get his attention, with no success. After nearly a minute, she looked up at Sun and let out a noise of disgust.

"Alright, _fine_. That pink bottle with the gold cap, on the top shelf? I can't reach, and he's busy dealing with other people. Can you just… grab it for me?" The girl pointed to her quarry; a bottle labeled 'for sensitive hair' with the brand name _Passione_ emblazoned across the front.

"Sure thing." Sun reached up and grabbed the bottle with ease, before taking down two other bottles, a pouf, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a can of spray-on deodorant from adjacent shelves.

The girl stared at him angrily as she watched, before holding out her hand expectantly. " _And_ give it to me. Are you just trying to be difficult, or are you that stupid?"

Sun looked over, feeling almost sorry for her as he kept the bottle on the counter along with his purchases. "Nah. I'm paying for it, and _then_ you can have it. It's the least I can do for bowling you over."

At that, the girl's eyes widened, and her expression softened a bit. "…oh. Uh… thanks, then." She had the grace to blush once again, though this time, the color didn't spread.

Sun set the rest of his items on the countertop as they waited and offered her his hand. "Sun Wukong. I'm new in town."

The girl hesitated, but accepted the hand with a grip strong enough to catch Sun off guard. "Ilia. I'm not."

"That's cool," Sun replied. "It seems like a nice place, with nice people." As the vendor turned, Sun offered his card. The vendor swiped it through the register, and began to bag the goods.

"That depends entirely on who you meet. You might want to be careful at night. You never know who's watching." Ilia's expression turned into a smirk as Sun had his back turned, dealing with the transaction. By the time he turned back to her and had the bag in his hands, her mouth had returned to neutral. He reached into the bag and offered her the bottle of shampoo with a confused tilt of the head.

"What do you mean by that?"

Ilia rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. You know how cities are, at night. Don't be stupid. Thanks," she added as she gripped the bottle. "Maybe you'll see me around. Maybe you won't." Ilia offered nothing more as she turned and walked back out into the crowds. Sun tried to follow her path with his eyes, but found that she more or less disappeared into thin air as the shifting faunus walking about blocked his view of her.

"…huh," Sun said to himself as he rerolled the top of the paper bag and turned to begin walking again. As he began to make his way back to the meeting point with Kali, a familiar smell wafted into his nostrils, and he turned to his left to try to locate the source.

 _Fish_.

A nearby stand had a multitude of fish on display, hanging from hooks and piled in baskets. A large cat faunus stood behind the counter, arms crossed and waiting as Sun jogged up to the front and scanned for tuna. The search didn't take long, and the transaction was just as quick as Sun offered his card to purchase the largest tuna that the vendor had available. As the fish was laid out on the counter, Sun allowed himself a triumphant smile as he reached into his back pocket to take a picture to send to Blake… but his expression quickly shifted to one of panic as his hand found nothing but a denim-clad butt cheek.

His scroll was gone.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Denim.

Clad.

 _Butt cheek._

 **-RD**


	8. Friction

Sun's eyes widened as he patted at his rear again, and then brought his hands and tail around to check all of his pockets with lightning speed. In each possible storage space, the length of his belt included, Sun came up with only disappointment. His wallet was still in place, but his scroll was both suspiciously and worryingly absent. He whirled in place and scanned the area behind himself, desperate for answers, before his mind clicked on the only reasonable conclusion.

 _Ilia_.

Sun's breathing quickened as he ran through the events of their conversation again. His back had been turned as he leaned up and grabbed the shampoo- a perfect opportunity for a pickpocket to take advantage. Her ominous tone and standoffish attitude only added to his suspicion of the girl, and Sun narrowed his eyes as he turned to find the cat faunus behind the stand holding out the wrapped tuna.

"Something wrong, sir?"

"Hey, you don't see a scroll anywhere around the stand, do you?" Sun inquired with a desperate tone.

The tiger faunus quirked a brow as he made a cursory glance around the stand and the grounds around it. "…can't say I do, no."

" _Great_. This is just not my day," Sun whined as he took the large fish and slung it over his shoulder. "Thanks anyway."

The large cat gave Sun a curt nod as he folded his arms across his chest. "Sure."

With a plastic bag in one hand containing his toiletries and the paper-wrapped tuna cradled in his other arm, Sun set out and made for the previous stand. Whether it was a trick of his panicked imagination or the unfortunate truth, the crowds seemed _much_ thicker as the desperate teen began to slip and sidle his way through the throngs of faunus gathered about in the market square.

"Hey! 'scuse me! Bit of an emergency, here!"

Sun began breathing hard as he made a hurried jog to retrace his steps. He looked over to his right as he saw the area in which he had taken pictures earlier. He paused for a moment and did a quick circle as he kept his eyes trained upon the ground, looking for an errant scroll in the dirt. Sun took a few more steps, and did another visual sweep. It was beginning to seem more and more likely that Ilia had indeed caught him with his guard down.

"Hey! Anybody find a scroll? I think I dropped mine!" Sun called out to no one in particular. All he received in response were strange looks, and a wide berth as the crowds of faunus began to avoid walking close him. "Seriously?" he griped, as he looked desperately around himself. Sun heaved a sigh as he realized just how guarded the clientele on the island likely was, for any number of reasons.

With a shake of his head, Sun returned to his hastened jog until he reached the stand. The crowd that had distracted the vendor seemed to have thinned out, and the merchant himself was in the process of closing up shop. Sun elected not to bother him, and instead took it upon himself to search the area. He circled the stand twice while inspecting every nook and cranny, but once again came up with nothing.

Sun let out a disappointed moan and brought a hand up to his forehead. He wiped away a small sheen of sweat, both from nerves and exhaustion, and closed his eyes. Though there wasn't much that could be done with his scroll, he still didn't like the feeling of losing such a personal belonging. There was only one thing left to do.

Find Ilia.

Sun opened his eyes and grunted softly to himself as he considered his options. It had been only five, ten minutes at _most_. She couldn't have gotten far, and Sun was a decent thief himself. Though he had resolved to cut out that aspect of his life while in Kuo Kuana, he found his brain slipping back into its old tendencies as he considered how to catch his prey. Sun nodded as he put himself in Ilia's shoes, and thought through the most likely course of action after a successful lift. In a crowd the size of the one in the market, the logical next step would be to run.

"Alright. Let's see if I've still got it," Sun mumbled to himself as he turned to the direction in which Ilia had disappeared. He began to walk and kept his eyes upon the ground as best he could. Countless footprints littered the brown dirt pathways, and seemed to offer no obvious solution. Sun continued onward, and began to press his luck as he spoke to random passerby in hushed tones.

"Ilia? Girl about this tall," he gestured with his hand to a confused looking ram faunus who was trying to make a fruit selection at a nearby stand. "Brown, curled ponytail. Sound familiar?"

The young, horned boy shook his head, looking a little scared as Sun loomed over him.

"People don't usually ask questions like that to strangers. Is she lost?"

Sun nodded, and put on a worried look. "Yeah. She's my girlfriend, and we're new here in town. I'd really appreciate anything you know. She's wearing a black leather getup, with gold buckles."

The faunus' face fell as he picked out an apple and put it into a waiting basket in his other hand. "Oh… I saw some girl running past a little while ago. It might have been her?"

"Running? Maybe she was looking for me, too. Which way?" Sun folded his arms as he looked down at the smaller boy. He was wearing a plain red shirt, jeans, and a stoic expression. Something about the inflection of his voice registered as suspicious, and Sun decided to put some pressure on. "Or do you not remember?"

The boy nodded once, before looking away. Sun smirked and reached his tail into his back pocket, before pulling out a 20 lien note and offering it to the boy with his extra appendage.

"How about now?"

The boy's brown eyes widened as he snatched the note, and Sun let out a little chuckle. Perhaps Kuo Kuana wasn't so different from Vacuo.

"…that way. You heard nothing from me. I really need to get home." The boy pointed halfheartedly to a natural alley formed between the backs of several stands, and shuffled off into the crowd himself. Sun unfolded his arms and began to jog once again, keeping a tight grip on his purchases as he went.

Sun kept his eyes on the ground and began to notice something rather odd. One set of footprints swerved off the path and toward the small space between the backs of stands to which the boy had pointed. The footprints began to get farther apart as they deviated from the crowd, and Sun narrowed his eyes. Whoever had been through there had been _running_.

Sun broke into a sprint as he picked up the trail, his sneakers pushing hard into the dirt as he went.

"Ilia!?" he cried out as wooden backings and canvas flew past him. He neither expected nor received a response as he ran, chest heaving. Sun bumped a shoulder into the sides of one of the stands and let out a grunt of discomfort at the sensation. Despite the minor wound, he continued his run and called out again.

"Ilia!"

" _What?_ " came a familiar voice from his left side.

Sun skidded to a stop, kicking up dirt as he slid past the gap between two stalls. There, slightly behind him, was Ilia leaning against the wooden wall at the back of a stand. She regarded him with crossed arms and a surprised expression, and Sun returned the look. How had he missed her…?

"You… what… how are you here?" Sun began. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt as he turned to fully face her while he caught his breath.

"I, uh, used my legs. Obviously?" Ilia uncrossed her arms, revealing a half-eaten apple in her left hand. She took another bite as she eyed him up.

"Oh, ha ha. Listen, I think I lost my scroll. You didn't… happen to pick it up, did you?" he asked, keeping his tone soft.

" _Excuse me?_ " Ilia mumbled around bits of apple in her mouth. "Are you accusing me of stealing your scroll? If I _had_ found it, I would've been looking for you." Ilia swallowed the remains of her bite, and narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, whoa, it's not like that!" Sun tried to gesture apologetically with the bag and fish in his hands, but the motion came out as a half-shrug. "I've been looking everywhere, and I thought you might know something."

"All I know is that you need to keep a better eye on your shit," she replied in a hostile tone.

Sun let out an exasperated sigh, and shifted his weight to his other foot. "Ilia, _please_. Can we not be like this? I wasn't trying to upset you."

"Well, you did. What do you want from me, Sun? To hang out, and get all touchy-feely?" Ilia fluttered the fingers of her free hand, before taking a final bite of the apple and tossing the core to the ground. With her hands empty, she rested them on her hips as she stared him down.

"Actually… I wouldn't mind hanging out, once things settle down a bit," Sun tried with a smile.

Ilia returned the expression with a saccharine enthusiasm. "Oh, _sure!_ I'll give you my number. Oh, wait," she lilted with a devilish grin. It was Sun's turn to frown. His expression threatened to devolve into a glower, but he used his last nerve to maintain composure.

"Look, Ilia… I can tell you're having a bad day. When you're feeling better, I'm staying with the Belladonnas in the center of town. Just come by and knock, and we'll talk, okay?" Sun moved to walk past the chameleon faunus, and missed the death glare he received for his words.

"Oh, I will. Give me some time to let off some steam, and maybe things will be a little… _different_."

Sun heaved one last sigh as he continued to walk his way past Ilia and back out onto the dirt road. Once he was out of sight and back into the crowd, Ilia reached into her pocket and opened Sun's scroll.

"I'm having a bad day, alright… but you're about to have a worse one." Ilia grinned to herself, before blending into the dark shade of wood on the back of the stand and slinking her way through the alley.

* * *

A dejected Sun trudged his way back to the meeting point with Kali at the entrance to the marketplace. The older woman waited patiently with her basket slung over her shoulder as Sun approached, and she offered him a muted smile that turned quickly into a small frown.

"Sun? What happened, dear?"

Sun dragged his feet as he walked, making trails more than footsteps in the dirt as he approached Kali.

"…I lost my stupid scroll. I retraced my steps and asked around, but… yeah. Sorry I took so long, Mrs…" Sun trailed off, before looking back up at her. "…Kali."

Kali's ears drooped as she let her basket slip from her shoulder down into the dirt with a heavy _thud_. Maternal instincts took over as she closed the gap between them and wrapped Sun in a tight hug, with one hand cupped around the back of his head and another around his waist. Surprisingly enough, the gesture did bring him a little comfort, and he found himself hugging back as she spoke to him.

"Oh, don't worry, Sun. I'm sure it'll turn up, eventually. Let's get back home, and ask Blake to text you some more little hearts? If someone found it, they just might respond."

Sun's tail flicked in reflex, cutting a smooth swath through the dirt as it raised up to waist level. "Kali, you're a genius! That just might work!"

"So I've been told. Come, now. Let's not waste any time," Kali said as she broke the embrace. Sun slid past her in a smooth motion and scooped up the basket for her, earning himself an eye roll. "Oh, _fine_."

"Hey, it's the least I can do," Sun shot back with a wink. Together, they set out on the path back to the mansion.

* * *

An eerie silence permeated the halls of the Belladonna mansion as Sun made his way through the halls on the upper floor. After helping Kali sort out the groceries in the kitchen and asking her for directions to Blake's room, Sun restocked the guest bathroom and set out in search of the younger Belladonna. Despite the mid-afternoon sun seeping through the high windows in the halls, something about the manor seemed strangely dark.

Sun kept up a brisk pace as he walked the halls, rubbing at his biceps with his hands. For whatever reason, his stomach was doing flips as he made his way toward Blake. Whether the sensation was due to his feelings for her, the loss of his scroll, or some combination of the two, he once again felt like he might be sick. As he approached the door to Blake's room, he paused a moment to collect his thoughts, and focus only upon her. The way that her ears twitched and flicked while she spoke, the heady aroma of her perfume, and the sweet, barely noticeable corners of her soft smile when she was pleased. Sun smiled, and knocked on the wooden door.

Blake opened the portal almost immediately, and met him with a harsh slap across the cheek as she stared up at him in rage.

"Bl-… _ow!_ " Sun whined, as he brought a hand up to his burning cheek.

" _Sex kitten?_ Are you kidding me, Sun!?" Blake hissed through clenched teeth. Her amber eyes were narrowed to dangerous slits, and Sun instinctively took a step backward.

"Sex… Blake, what are you talking about?" The burning in his cheeks intensified as pain and embarrassment mixed. Blake growled in frustration as she thrust her scroll up and held it mere inches from his face. There upon the screen was a long text conversation between the two of them, full of unfamiliar messages.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Must everything end with some sort of cliffhanger? The answer is


	9. Glass Skin

_3:34pm_

 _Hey cutie, what's the plan tonight?_

 _3:34pm_

 _Cutie? Sun, I'm sitting right next to my dad. Cut it out._

 _3:35pm_

 _Who cares? Make yourself available. I've got an idea._

 _3:37pm_

 _Ok, but you're acting weird. Since when am I "cutie"?_

 _3:37pm_

 _Since I saw how good your legs look in that nightie. I've been thinking about how they'll feel in my hands all afternoon._

 _3:37pm_

 _OMG you need to stop right now. I'm serious._

 _3:38pm_

 _You want me._

 _3:49pm_

 _What is wrong with you? I am not ok with this & you need to come to my room right now so we can talk face to face. I have boundaries & you just crossed a lot of them. This isn't cool & you're going way too far. I don't care how close we are as friends, you don't get to just drop this on me out of nowhere, especially when you know I'm around my parents. _

_3:49pm_

 _Come on, sex kitten. Why so shy? You owe me. I'll pop in soon, and we can do more than talk. Hope your jaw's flexible._

 _3:49pm_

 _WTF Sun stop right now or I'm kicking you out. There better be a good explanation for this or we're done permanently. I'm turning off my scroll you fucking perv._

 _3:50pm_

 _And you're turning me on. Maybe we can invite your mom and have some fun tonight. I've got more than enough to share._

Sun stared at the display in utter disbelief. Instead of the familiar hot blush that he often had in situations involving anything remotely intimate with Blake, his entire body instead felt like ice. He looked at 'his' supposed words with utter revulsion and found that he couldn't even blink, let alone tear his gaze from the screen. His mouth opened to form words, but all he could bring up was silence as his insides twisted and turned in an uncomfortable rhythm.

After nearly a full minute, Blake lowered the scroll to her side, and Sun's eyes instinctively traveled to her face. Instead of the furious pools of gold that he expected, he instead was met with a view of the top of her head, cat ears matted down into her hair as she stared at the floor. Her shoulders trembled as she remained in place, the hand free of the scroll balled into a tight fist. Blake was the first to speak.

"…I don't know what… _signals_ you think I've been sending you, but you've got them all wrong. I'm not the kind of girl to just get swept off her feet and then become some _object_ for a guy. What gave you this idea? Why do you think you can just send me this out of the blue, and everything will be fine afterward?"

Blake raised her head to stare up at Sun, and her expression shook him to his core. The feline faunus had locked her eyes to his face in a glare full of sheer hatred, with fresh tear trails working their way down her cheeks in an uneven race to her chin. She sniffled as she kept up her glower, and Sun did the only thing he could think to do in his paralyzed, wordless state. He stepped forward, and made an attempt to reach for her hand.

"Blake…"

" _No!_ "

Sun felt the impact before he saw it. A surprising, stinging pain coursed through his abdomen and dispersed up through his chest as Blake's fist crashed into his stomach with surprising force and speed. Sun crumpled and took a few steps backward as he wrapped an arm around his abs, the wind knocked completely out of him from the blow.

"Don't you _dare_ touch me right now! I want nothing to do with you, Sun! You're disgusting! I thought you weren't like most other guys, and that you might actually…" Blake trailed off with another sniffle, before she clenched her teeth. Her ears stood straight up as she began to stomp toward Sun, rapidly closing the distance as she readied her fist.

" _Wait!_ Blake, stop! It wasn't me!" Sun cried desperately, while holding out his other hand in an open palm.

Blake came to a stop inches from his hand, and hesitated. She breathed in heavily through her nose, her furious expression unchanging as she spat her next words. "Start talking."

Sun curled the fingers on his outstretched hand, leaving only the pointer up as he gestured to her to give him a moment. He took a few painful breaths, and began to wonder if she had managed to crack a rib as he straightened his posture with a painful hiss.

"I lost my scroll, at the market. Whoever sent you all of that, it _wasn't_ me. I would never send something like that! I swear to gods, Blake, not just to you, but to anyone… does that _sound_ like me?" Sun pleaded as he leaned back into the wall by her bedroom door.

Blake's face twisted from a mask of uncontrolled rage into a grotesque mixture of anger, sadness, and disgust. Sun watched as she wrestled internally with her emotions, and more tears began to slip down her cheeks. He wanted so badly to reach out and dry her eyes with a finger before pulling her close, but he knew to do so would be a death sentence for their friendship.

"You know the answer to that. But… this wouldn't be the first time that a guy I knew started to change, or started to push for something I didn't want." Blake paused, and folded her arms beneath her chest as she looked off to the side, away from Sun. "I want to believe you. I really do, but… how did you lose your scroll? I need details."

Sun offered her a slow nod of understanding. "I think someone stole it, while I was checking out the stalls. You can ask your mom, and she'll back me up. What time is it right now?"

Blake turned over her hand to look at the display of her scroll. "4:05," she replied. "I'm going to go talk to Mom, right now. Stay here."

"Wait," Sun interjected with a small cough. "If you go downstairs looking like this, it's going to cause her to panic. Want me to go get her, and bring her up here with us? It'll give you a chance to get cleaned up quick, and I'm… okay with her being involved in this situation. That's gotta count for something, right? Whoever did this mentioned her in the text…"

"Never mention that again," Blake cut in with a shake of her head. She mulled over the suggestion, before looking back over to him- most of the anger in her features had dissipated, and she instead began to look very sick. "Go get Mom."

Sun nodded and turned to head for the door. As he put a foot across the threshold, the soft sound of a vibrating device buzzed behind him.

"Wait!" Blake cried out. Sun whirled immediately, and gave her a worried glance.

"What is it?"

"It's you," she replied. "You just texted me again."

Sun stood still, and watched as her eyes traced over his hands. One arm was still around his stomach, while the other hung limply at his side.

"Tail," she said. Sun caught her meaning immediately, and snaked his tail around to the front of his body, showing that it held nothing. He then reached into his front pockets and turned them out for good measure, producing only his wallet, before turning around and keeping his hands and tail up to show off the back of his shorts. Both back pockets were flat, and devoid of a bulge that would suggest a scroll.

The pair stood in silence for a few moments, before Blake moved her thumb and held it on the power button of her scroll. She took a long, drawn-out breath before speaking, her voice shaky.

"Get inside."

Sun obliged, and lowered his hands as he turned and walked back into the room. Blake slipped past him and closed her bedroom door, before double locking both the knob and deadbolt. As she turned back to face Sun, she tossed her scroll onto her bed with an angry flick, and folded her arms once again as she leaned her back into the black wooden door.

"Blake… what did it say?" Sun dared to ask, keeping his voice low as he watched her movements with curiosity.

"It doesn't matter." Blake raised her head to meet his eyes, and a wash of guilt trickled over her features. "…I'm sorry, Sun. I just…"

"Hey, no," he began. Sun took a slow, gentle step toward Blake, and watched her reaction carefully. She didn't protest or move, though her ears twitched slightly. He risked one more step to put them at arm's length, and stopped his advance.

"Don't apologize. Anyone who sends you something like that deserves to be punched in the gut, and then some. The evidence was pretty convincing, and I don't blame you. Things have been… tense, lately," he finished with a defeated tone, knowing that the excuse was a bit lame.

"…do you have feelings for me, Sun? Romantic feelings?" Blake asked. The pair of them both froze, and neither dared to blink. Blake was tense enough to spontaneously explode, and Sun suddenly began to feel lightheaded as one of his worst fears came to life. He once again opened his mouth and found that his words were caught in his throat. He stammered an odd, unattractive sort of croak, before he managed to muster a few simple words.

"I… I think so. Yeah," Sun let out the last word with a heavy breath. He looked off to the side as his shoulders grew knotted, and he waited for some sort of reply from Blake. None came. He sighed, and decided to look back to her and face the situation instead of trying to avoid it.

"So, I've never dated anyone before, or really… 'done much', I guess? A girl or two has caught my eye before, but it was always just some shallow, passing… uh, _thing_ ," Sun said, as he lifted his free hand and began to rub the back of his neck. "It's different, with you. I feel more connected. It's not a crush, and it's not just… any one thing, like your looks, or your voice, or... anything else. It's… _you_. That's the only way I can explain it. I'm happier around you, and I want you to find that same happiness. That's why I stick around. You're worth all of the trouble that's gone on, and honestly… even if you don't feel the same way, I'm fine with that. I want to see your smile. I want to hear your laugh. I don't know if… 'feelings' is the right word. Or 'love'. Or… anything else that people tend to throw around. I really want you in my life, and I want you to be comfortable with wherever it is you fit in," he finished with a long exhale. All of what he said was true, and he simply hoped that none of it would cause her to leave.

Blake listened intently to his words, and Sun watched as her gaze transitioned from his face back down to the floorboards, midway through his confession. She chewed at her bottom lip as he finished, and Sun took note that somewhere into his monologue, tiny wet spots had begun to appear on the wooden floorboards beneath her. His heart sank at the sight, and he feared for the worst as she pushed herself off the wall with her upper back.

"…I'm not ready, Sun. I don't know if I ever will be," she stated with a strained voice. With slow, purposeful steps, Blake closed the distance between herself and Sun, and opened her arms to wrap them around his waist. Sun held his own arms aloft, before gently laying them upon her back with a light squeeze as Blake rested her head into his upper chest.

"That's… okay," Sun said, as he began to trace his right hand along the upper part of her back. His bare chest began to feel cold from the sensation of her icy, stained cheek against his flesh, but he pushed the discomfort to the back of his mind. "Really, it's cool. 'Dating' or whatever isn't important. I'm here to help you, okay?"

"…okay," Blake replied in a voice that was barely audible to him. Blake sniffed, and tightened her grip around Sun's waist as she began to speak again. "I… had a mentor, in the White Fang. Adam. Adam Taurus. We got close. Things were… fiery. Passionate. I was still just a kid, and he was an older boy in the middle of his teens, when we started… we became 'a thing', Sun. He drew me in with his talk of revolution, and his commitment to the cause. There was nothing I wouldn't do for him, and that included… things I wasn't ready for." Blake choked out the last few words, and Sun felt the cold streams making their way down to his stomach intensifying. He tightened his own grip upon her, and interrupted.

" _Hey_ , you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. We can do this over however long you need to be comfortable telling me, if you even want to. Okay?" Sun slipped his right hand down and around her side, and brought it up to lift her chin with his forefinger and thumb. With a miserable, self-loathing look, Blake gave him a small nod.

"…he… became abusive, over time. Mentally. Physically. He broke me."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room as Sun mulled over the implications. He returned his hand to her upper back, and rekindled the tight squeeze.

"No, he didn't break you, Blake. Maybe temporarily, b-"

"Don't say it, Sun," Blake interrupted with a sudden venom in her tone. The anger and vitriol had returned to her voice with sudden sharpness, and her soft, vulnerable expression had once again morphed into a hateful glare. "Don't say I'm strong. Don't say I bounced back. I'm _not_ who I was, and I probably never will be again. Do you think I _like_ being cold? Do you think I _like_ being guarded and standoffish all the time? I used to be so different, Sun. I used to be _fun_ to be around, and not just to you. To everyone. I was just a little girl, and he stole that from me. He _ruined_ me. You could never understand what it feels like to have everything you love about yourself stripped away for someone else's sick pleasure," Blake finished, before resting her head back into his chest. Countless thoughts swirled in Sun's mind, but the first among them was a newfound hatred for a man he had never met.

Everything he thought to say struck him as a bad idea. He knew that if he said he liked who she was now, she would reply that _she_ didn't. If he suggested revenge, she would tell him that she wasn't ready, or she would rather avoid him. Sun ran his hand in loose circles around her shoulder blades, as he remembered that he was often most successful when he stopped thinking entirely and just followed his instinct.

"I love you, Blake. I don't know what that means yet, but I know it's true. I've always kinda figured there were different types of love, and they're all special, but… I think this might be one of them. That means that I want to help you figure out how to love yourself again, no matter how long that takes. I won't leave you, and if I ever upset you, I want you to tell me. I'm okay with just being friends, or whatever that does or doesn't turn into in the future. I'll be right here to help you out, however you need me to."

Blake shifted uncomfortably, and took her time to reply. "…I'm sorry, Sun. I have more baggage than you could imagine, even as 'just a friend'. I-"

Blake slipped out of Sun's grasp as a series of loud, heavy knocks came at the door. Ghira's voice echoed through the wood shortly afterward, and both of the teens eyed each other in panic.

" _Blake? Open the door, I need to talk to you."_

Blake's mouth fell open as she looked to Sun for an answer, and the boy steeled himself as he nodded his head toward her personal bathroom. "Go. I'll talk to him," Sun said with a newfound resolve that surprised even himself. Blake asked no questions, and made her way to the bathroom before closing the door. The sound of running water followed shortly afterward.

 _"Blake! Really, I want to make sure you're alright. You left so suddenly th-"_

It was Sun's turn to interrupt as he unbolted and unlocked the door before flinging it open to face Ghira, clad in his usual purple robe. The massive man stared down at Sun with narrowed eyes, and regarded his tear-stained chest and the growing bruise just above his waist with disgust and suspicion.

"What did I tell you about open doors, _Mister Wukong?_ " he began.

"Mr. B, with all due respect… can we talk about this in the hall? I know what you said, and I'm sorry, but it's really important. Please? For Blake's sake."

Ghira regarded him with mild surprise, taken aback by the boy's brashness. He stepped back, and allowed Sun to slip through the door and stand beside him. The door clicked closed as Sun got into position, and let his arms hang down at his sides.

"Sorry about the door thing. Blake locked it when we started talking. I know that's not a good excuse, but it's the truth. I know you're probably _really_ upset with me, and worried about Blake, but please just hear me out? Nothing… 'untoward', was it? Nothing like that is going on. I swear," Sun finished while folding his arms. Ghira looked ready to put him through the wall, but he inhaled deeply through his nose as he folded his own arms, each nearly the size of Sun's torso.

"I'm listening."

"Blake's dealing with some things from her past that she isn't proud of, right now. It's a big deal, and she's not taking it well. She got a message on her scroll that brought up some painful memories, and she wanted to talk to me about it. That's all that's going on in there, and maybe she'll fill you in on the details later, but right now… she needs me. There are just some things you can't talk to parents about… or, I mean, I'd assume so?" Sun tilted his head, and Ghira offered no response.

"I never really… had that kind of experience, so I guess I wouldn't know, but I can't talk to certain people about certain things either, and… yeah, I have a feeling you really don't care." Sun paused, and Ghira remained still and silent.

"I guess I'm just trying to say that this is something that I'm probably a better fit to deal with, just because it's something that someone in her friend circle might understand better than a parent. I'll ask her to speak to you about it, but for now… can you please just trust me with this? I know that's asking a lot, but we both want what's best for Blake, and you and I can talk this out later. Please?" Sun finished his request, and gave Ghira his most sincere look. The elder male breathed in again, and kept his tone even and dangerous.

"…you and I _will_ speak about this later, _tonight_. Go back inside and do what you need to do to help her, but know that I won't be far from the door. Keep it closed, so that you two can speak and have some privacy. Blake spent the majority of this morning and afternoon trying to convince me that you have some worth. That is the _only_ reason that I am not ejecting you from my property right now." Ghira used his left hand to open the door again, before leaning against the wall right next to it.

"Thanks, Mr. B." Sun offered with as much honesty as he could. "Sorry it has to be like this, but I'll do what I can for her."

Without so much as another glance at Ghira, Sun turned and made his way back into the bedroom. Blake was still in the attached bathroom, and so Sun elected to take a seat upon the bed and look around. The room was mostly bare due to Blake's long absence from her parents' home, though a few purple tapestries with the Belladonna emblem hung from the ceiling around the door to the balcony and nearby window.

The bed itself was larger than the one Sun had been given in the guest bedroom, though it was just as soft. Sun flopped backward into the pillowy mattress with a sigh, and folded his hands behind his head as he kept his feet upon the floor. The sound of a creaking bathroom door drew his eyes over to where Blake had disappeared. There she stood in the doorway once again, though her white overcoat had disappeared, as had her tear trails. She took soft steps toward him, and spoke with a weary voice.

"Well. You're not dead. That's a good first step."

"Not yet, no. Not sure how I pulled it off, but your dad is cool with us just… hanging out, for a bit." Sun moved to sit up, only to find Blake's frigid hand pushing into the center of his chest and pinning him to the bed. "Blake…?"

Blake didn't reply as she lowered herself onto the bed, and climbed atop his chest. With a smooth motion, she slipped down to cuddle into his side, clinging tightly to his shoulder and waist with her arms as Sun slowly trailed his left arm to cradle the small of her back.

"… _this_ is a big step for me, Sun. For a long time, I wouldn't let anyone touch me," Blake said in a hushed voice.

"Then it's a step you should be proud of," he replied. "You're still growing. You can still become who you want to be."

"I need to experience more, for that to happen. I don't know _what_ I need to experience, but… I think it has something to do with you," Blake said as she squeezed at his bicep. She scooted in closer to rest her chin upon Sun's shoulder, and he had half a mind to trace his hand to her ears. He decided against it.

"We'll take it at your pace. Whatever 'it' is." Sun closed his eyes and inhaled, focusing upon her perfume.

"I'm going to… try to begin looking at you… at _us_ in a… from a more 'romantic' angle, Sun. I'm not sure how, and I don't know what that 'means', like you said. It's not going to be tonight, or tomorrow. Maybe not even this year, when we… 'move forward', if you want to call it that, but I'm going to try. I want to get to know you, more… and I _need_ to get to know myself, again."

Sun's heart fluttered as he savored her words, and he turned his thoughts off to offer a natural response.

"Cool," he managed.

Blake rolled her eyes, and couldn't help but offer a smile that he didn't see. "…right. _Cool_. Can we just… stay like this, for a while? You're warm, and I feel like garbage."

Sun opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her, though too late to catch her toothy grin. Instead, he received a pleading, vulnerable look, and the sight drove him to let instinct take over. Slowly, he leaned his head downward and planted a gentle kiss onto the top of her head. The action earned him a frenzied blush, but no form of protest.

"I'll stay with you for as long as you'll have me."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

So, at 20,000 words in, I would say this story has now 'started'. Most of the major players and the beginnings of the central conflicts are now in place. I'll try to keep the three-day update schedule going, as it seems to be working out thus far in terms of work, life, and not getting burnt out on this story. If I had to guess, this is likely going to run somewhere around 30 chapters, and will remain my main focus for the foreseeable future. Let the rocky romance begin.

 **-RD**


	10. Interior Design

Sun wasn't sure how long they remained embraced upon the bed. Few words were exchanged in their time together, instead replaced only by the gentle sounds of early evening and even gentler squeezes and shifts. Over time, Blake changed position to take up the place of little spoon, and Sun was more than happy to cradle against her back with his arms around her and her hands atop his. He took one last inhale of her raven-colored hair, and stole a glance out the window near the balcony door. The sky was growing dark, and the first stars were barely visible as dim points over the horizon.

"Hey, Blake… how long d'you think we've been here? Your dad ordered me to explain what's going on tonight, and I kinda… don't want him upset with me."

Blake rubbed her thumb atop the back of one of Sun's hand, and tightened her grip upon it.

"I don't know. It feels like days and minutes, at the same time." Blake let out a wistful sigh as she shifted her body to face him, while remaining close. Sun loosened his grip to allow her to turn, and Blake ended up with her hands clasped to his as their eyes met. "Dad's going to have a fit if we just stay in here, but I don't want to be alone. Go to him, and I'll meet you in your room afterward?"

Sun fought back the urge to agree immediately, though it took some serious effort. "Is that really a chance you want to take? He's already fuming that I was in your room with the door closed."

"And repetition will help him get used to it. He's got my best interest in mind, but he also doesn't know what I need right now. He barely knows _me_ , anymore. I started to bridge the gap a little more this morning, but it's going to take time. He's a good guy, underneath the grumbling and threats. Just don't back down, and he'll warm up to you. Probably," Blake finished.

" _Probably?_ Considering he could palm and probably crush my head, that isn't much comfort," Sun retorted.

"Well, nothing's ever easy, is it?" Blake let her hands slip from Sun's, and in the absence of her icy skin, he somehow began to feel colder. He squeezed his fingers into his palms as he moved to sit up, already missing the sensation of her touch.

"Not when it comes to situations like this, no." Sun pushed his palms down into the mattress and vaulted to stand. He lifted his arms high above his head in a lengthy stretch with a noise of effort, and felt a cold hand creep up to his side from under his shirt. With a hint of confusion, he looked down to see Blake sitting up beside him and caressing his side.

"You'll do fine. After all… you managed to convince _me_ to keep you around, after I practically threw you overboard for following me halfway around the world. Dad's nothing, in comparison."

Sun snaked his hand downward to pat the top of Blake's, before he moved for the door while rolling his neck. "At least I know where you got it from. See you in a bit?"

Blake nodded, and Sun pushed his way through the door before turning to push it closed behind himself.

" _Two hours,_ " a low, unsatisfied voice rumbled from behind Sun. He felt the light dusting of hair upon his neck stand on end as the growl came again. "A bit more than two hours, in fact."

Ghira stood against the wall, unmoved from his previous position outside of Blake's bedroom. As Sun turned to look him over, he was both shocked and utterly unsurprised that the Belladonna patriarch had indeed stayed close for the duration.

"I'm sorry, sir. It was impo-"

"Do not apologize. You told me that it was a situation you needed to deal with personally. You need only apologize if that was a lie. Now, your job is to convince me that it was not. Let us hope that you succeed." Ghira turned and began to walk through the darkened halls, and Sun jogged forward to match his pace.

"I lost my scroll at the market. I have a feeling it was lifted out of my back pocket, while I was looking through the stalls." Sun slowed his pace as he caught up, and worked to make a mental map of the way between Blake's room and what he assumed would soon be Ghira's office.

"…was this before, or after my daughter began receiving messages that caused her to leave our conversation earlier today?" Ghira inquired with a bit of interest in his voice.

"Before. That's… actually what started this whole thing. Someone started sending her things using my scroll, and they were… uh… a little dirty." Sun chanced a look up at Ghira, and found the elder male looking down at him as they walked.

"…do you have _any_ idea who could be responsible?" Ghira asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Not really, no. Not with any solid proof. I met someone at the market, and I thought it could've been her, but… it could've been _anyone_." Sun's mind ran through Ilia's words once again, and he found that he was still suspicious of her, despite her insistence of innocence. Suddenly, Sun was struck by a pleasant thought. "…you actually believe me?"

Ghira grunted as he pushed his massive palm into the door that Sun had seen the previous evening. The portal was emblazoned with the Belladonna emblem, and the wood swung open to reveal Ghira's office once again. The paperwork atop the desk had barely gone down in size, and the papers were all arranged in neat piles. The rest of the floor space was taken up with foliage, much like the rest of the house, and plush, velvet-covered furniture in deep purples and greens. Ghira moved to sit upon a couch, and Sun took up residence upon its twin, across from him.

"Your story adds up, given the timing of events. As much as I would like to have something to hold over you, I will not do so unfairly." Ghira gestured toward a shelf on the nearby wall- between two other shelves of books was one packed tightly with bottles of various colored glass. "What is your preferred alcohol?"

Sun tensed as he tried to determine Ghira's intentions, before defaulting to honesty. "I don't drink."

" _Good_." Ghira retorted, while folding his arms. "You're not of age, to begin with."

Sun merely offered a slow nod, unsure of what to say. He decided to see where the situation would go if he didn't carry the conversation for once, and leaned back into the cushions of the couch. Sun rested an arm along the back of it, and propped one foot atop the knee of his other leg as he waited, tail lightly dusting the wooden floor in silence. After what seemed like an eternity, Ghira finally broke and shifted in his seat.

"… _so_. What exactly went on that required your personal attention? Surely, Kali and I could have consoled her."

As though it was planned, a soft knock came at the door of the office. Without waiting for a reply, Kali poked her head through the doorway and smirked at the sight of Sun.

" _Oh_ ," she began with a sultry tone. "I had a feeling you wouldn't be alone, but I expected Blake. Did you find her, Ghira? Is everything alright?"

Ghira unfolded his arms and let his forearms rest awkwardly upon his thighs as he turned to face his wife. His tone softened to an almost unrecognizable degree as she slipped into the room and began to approach, carrying a tray with a jade teapot and four matching cups.

"… _darling_ ," he offered. Sun fought back the urge to snicker or even smirk, as he knew that to do so would incur Ghira's wrath later. "Blake was… well, our guest got to her first, and spent some time consoling her. Things seem well, at the moment."

Sun watched with interest as Kali sat the tray down, and wondered where she would elect to sit. Something about her mannerisms and suggestive glances made him half expect that she would plant herself next to him, but she instead sat down next to her husband and snaked an arm around his own.

"Good. How is she doing, Sun?" she asked, while looking him over.

"Not great, but better. Someone's using my scroll to send her things. Dirty things."

Kali's grin began to show teeth. "Ooh, how fun," she lilted.

" _Kali!_ " Ghira said in protest, with an exasperated tone.

"What?" she replied. "If it was me, I'd simply try to out-dirty them. Why not have a little fun with it?"

"Because she's our _daughter!_ " Ghira roared, and at that, Sun couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"It's not a bad idea, Mr. B. It might get them to stop."

"Just give her scroll to me, and I'll take care of it. It's been a while since I've had an opportunity to talk dirty to strangers." Kali's smile grew wider as she relished the idea.

Ghira chose to ignore her, and busied himself with taking a cup and pouring himself some tea. Kali gave him a pointed, venomous look, and a silent conversation occurred between the two of them. With a slow, hesitant movement, he outstretched the cup and offered it to Sun instead.

"…tea?" he asked, with a significant amount of pain in his voice. Kali looked rather pleased, and rubbed Ghira's shoulder at the gesture. Sun blinked in surprise, and gingerly accepted the cup.

"Uh, sure. Thanks, sir."

Kali giggled and rose a dainty hand to her mouth as she accepted the second cup from her husband. "Don't 'sir' him. He'll take it to heart, and start lording you over."

Ghira grunted as he finally got to pouring his own tea and pulled the cup toward himself. He took a sip and let out an exasperated sigh. "It _is_ our home, Kali."

"And he _is_ our guest, Ghira. Treat him like family. Blake certainly does."

Ghira's grip upon the teacup tightened, and Sun quietly sipped at his own while avoiding both sets of eyes upon him. An awkward silence fell over the room, and Sun decided to take a chance to break the tension.

"…this tea is still _really_ good."

He earned a laugh from Kali for his efforts, and the ghost of a smirk from Ghira. Though he tried to hide it with his cup, Sun caught on and couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself for turning his earlier ineptitude around.

"So," Kali said, "Blake is improving a bit? What did you do to fix it?"

Sun's cheeks tinted pink as he took another sip. "We, uh… we mostly uh, we cuddled."

" _Cuddled?_ For _two hours?_ " Ghira balked, looking as though he had been told that he was being evicted from his home. Kali dug her nails into his arm in response, and drew a surprised hiss from him.

"Is that really so strange? They're young and emotional. Don't you remember how we used to be?" she inclined with a knowing wink. It was Ghira's turn to blush lightly, and he began to look as though he wanted to die for doing so in front of Sun. "And how we'll likely be tonight?" The blush deepened.

"Mr. B, I swear, we didn't do anything more than that. She just needed… someone to hold her, let her know everything's okay. You know?" Sun leaned down and poured himself more tea. "Besides, you were right outside the door. You would've heard if I was lying." He lifted the cup to his lips and took another drink. Ghira looked uneasy, but said nothing as he took another sip as well.

"That all sounds about right, unless they somehow had the quietest sex in the universe with you mere feet away," Kali interjected. Both males choked at the same time. Ghira had the sense to set his cup down, while Sun quite nearly spilled his as his chest heaved while he was subjected to an embarrassed coughing fit.

" _Kali!_ "

"What? It's my job to call you out when you're being stupid. That's a big part of why our relationship works." She seemed entirely unbothered by the idea as she leaned her entire weight into Ghira's side. Sun set his cup down as well, and held his chest as he sputtered. "Are you alright?"

" _Yeah_ ," he coughed. "You really don't have a filter, do you?"

"That's part of why I married her," Ghira cut in with an uncharacteristic smoothness. Sun quirked a brow as he finally got control of his throat. Slowly, he was beginning to see how the dynamics of their relationship worked. Even more slowly, he was starting to feel welcome in the Belladonna home, thanks in no small part to Kali breaking the tension.

"And the other reasons, he won't say in front of you. Maybe if you marry in, someday." After the relentless teasing from Kali, Ghira merely rolled his eyes and leaned back as he rested his gargantuan arm over Kali's shoulders.

"Thank you, honey, for so thoroughly derailing this conversation and nearly choking the boy to death."

"It's what I'm here for."

"So," Ghira followed up, "is Blake really going to be alright? You said something about unpleasant memories." He paused, and looked Sun over. Something about his gaze had changed, and become softer. "…Adam, I would assume?"

Sun nodded and sat up straight as the conversation took a more serious turn. "Yeah, Adam. She mentioned the name, but… I honestly don't really know much else, yet."

"He's a _dick_ ," Kali offered with uncharacteristic venom. Sun looked over to her only to find her eyes narrowed and full of hate. It was Ghira's turn to calm her down as he rolled her shoulder within his palm.

"In terms of his involvement with my daughter, you know as much as I do… though I knew him as a man. He once saved my life, though he took another to do it," Ghira said with a heavy sigh.

Sun looked between the pair of parents, confused.

"Wait… how did that happen? I thought the White Fang members in Kuo Kuana were a fringe group? What happened?"

Ghira grimaced and looked down to the table between them, deep in thought. Kali jumped into the conversation, though her tone struck Sun as odd- she had become more serious and reserved, rather than the sultry flirt he was used to hearing.

"My husband was once the leader of the White Fang. In the old days, when they were simply a passive resistance group rather than what they are now, Ghira was at the helm, calling the shots. Adam Taurus was one of his guards. Their caravan was attacked by a group of humans, looking to assassinate Ghira. Adam managed to stop them, but killed a human in the process. It wasn't our way. More and more of the White Fang began to gravitate toward that line of thinking, and so, Ghira stepped down and ceded control to Sienna, their current leader."

Sun looked to Ghira as he began to speak, and felt his stomach starting to knot.

"Violence begets violence. Too much of the White Fang was angry with the attempt on my life to listen to my words of warning, and so, I left to run Kuo Kuana instead. Adam Taurus was the start of violent resistance, and he accrued many followers who began to see his way as more effective than mine." Ghira paused. "Blake was among them."

The words seemed to pass through Sun as he tried to imagine Blake as a ruthless killer. Despite her cold nature and passionate feelings for the faunus, he just couldn't see her taking a life willingly. He tried his best to understand how she might have felt, but came up short.

"I… don't understand. How could Blake endorse something like that? She's been fighting to protect everyone for months, now."

Kali sighed. "An attempt was made at her father's life. Something like that changes people. How would you feel, in her situation?"

"About the same," Sun replied automatically, and a little too quickly. He stood, put his hands into his pockets, and looked toward the door, trying to avoid the couple's eyes as Ghira and Kali exchanged quizzical glances. The room went completely silent as his tail stopped moving, and it was nearly a full minute before Sun spoke again. "Hey, so I should probably get back to Blake. She was still pretty upset when I left. Is that cool?"

Ghira opened his mouth to protest, but silenced himself as Kali leaned against him and placed a palm against his shoulder. She gently pushed her hand along his pecs and began to entwine his chest hair around her fingers.

"Let him go, love. It's day two of their stay, and there will be plenty of time to talk more, later. Can't you see that Sun is uncomfortable?"

Sun personally thought that 'uncomfortable' was in the running for understatement of the year. His entire posture had changed as soon as the question about his parents had been asked, and he found that he didn't even have the energy to stand straight anymore. Ghira made a contemplative noise and offered the young man a nod.

"Go. Tomorrow morning, you and I have some… affairs to attend to."

"I'll be there," Sun replied with a deflated tone. He offered a halfhearted wave, and slipped out of the office. Kali watched him go with a hint of worry.

"…so. His parents are off limits, as a topic of conversation."

"So it would seem," Ghira replied. "Hm…"

* * *

Sun stood before the guest bedroom door and heaved a weary sigh. Once again, he tried his tactic of thinking of Blake to cheer himself up, but it rang hollow. All he saw was her face with tear trails, her ears flat, and her wounded heart. He knew that he had to be her rock, especially then, and grumbled to himself. He took a deep breath and forced a smile. All he could do was pray that it would be convincing enough for her.

As he pushed his way through the door, he found Blake sat upon the bed in her familiar nightie, sitting in much the same position as she had been the previous night with her scroll in hand. Her expression, however, was completely different, and her face and ears reflected the same troubling image that he had visualized only seconds before.

"Sun? We have a serious problem."

"What? What happened?" He approached her in a hurry, and Blake once again held out her scroll to him, but this time, she looked sick rather than angry.

"Take it. Look through it," she said in a shaky, uncertain voice.

He did, and his eyes widened as he began to scroll up through the messages with his finger. The one harassing Blake was no longer sending words- they were sending _pictures_. Impossible pictures.

The series started with a picture of Sun from behind, brushing his teeth in the attached bathroom. Somehow, the photographer wasn't visible in the mirror. The next few were of the same theme, but from slightly different angles. His heartbeat picked up as he realized that someone, _somehow_ , had been in the room the night before.

The next series of pictures featured both himself and Blake- she was atop him, working through the heavenly massage during which he had fallen asleep. Several others simply showed the pair talking, and all were taken from the vantage point of the balcony. Sun looked over the scroll to meet Blake's eyes, and found that she looked exactly as he felt.

"Blake…" he began. "When you… left last night, did you open the balcony door? It was open when I woke up."

Blake shook her head. "I can't stand the cold, and I wouldn't have done that to you while you were laying atop the blankets shirtless."

Sun offered the scroll back to her with a shudder. "Then… someone was in this room, last night. How else would they have gotten these pictures? They must have taken them with their own scroll, sent them to mine, and sent them to you, now."

"Did you check your pictures anytime between last night and when you lost it earlier today?"

Sun hesitated, thinking back. He'd taken one of the tuna, but he hadn't checked through his own photos before that. Why would he?

"…you think they swiped my scroll and used it to take these while I wasn't looking, even _before_ it got lifted in the marketplace?"

"It's possible. They… could still be in the house. I'm going to get my weapon." Blake slid toward the edge of the mattress, but Sun held out a hand to stop her.

"No. We go together, to be safe. Hold on a sec."

Sun began a slow walk to the bathroom door. As he reached it, he pushed against the wood and stepped inside, only to find something _very_ out of place.

There upon the counter was the pink _Passione_ shampoo bottle with the golden top, oozing a thick green liquid down into the sink from where a dagger had been plunged into the side. Atop the hilt of the knife was a small note written in hot pink pen and fancy script.

 _Both of you, leave Kuo Kuana. This is your only warning._

The note was capped off with a little heart, and signed 'Ilia'.

Sun _hated_ when his gut feelings were right.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Ever notice how in _Like Morning Follows Night_ , it's alluded to that Sun has some of his own issues, yet in the show he's written as nearly flawless and as though nothing could ever really bother him?

Yeah. No.

Next update on Friday the 8th.

 **-RD**


	11. Harvest Season

Ilia hopped from the small boat and began to stride across the starlit sand with purpose- the journey from Kuo Kuana to the White Fang's hidden encampment on a nearby island had taken most of the day, but she knew the trip would be worth it. Corsac and Fennec were more careful as they left the vessel, and stepped lightly onto the beach as they took up the rear of their little troupe. The two brothers whispered feverishly and exchanged glances, while Ilia picked up her pace into a jog. The chameleon faunus smiled to herself, as she imagined just how pleased Adam would be with her- she had done exactly as had been asked thus far, _and_ managed to secure the scroll of one of their new enemies.

As she made her way across the beach, Ilia pulled her horned grimm mask from a pouch at her side and drew Sun's scroll from an opposite pocket. She had made a day of trawling through the young man's personal information as the two brothers dealt with maneuvering the boat between rocky outcroppings, and she had learned a great deal. Sun's scroll was a veritable treasure trove of information, both about himself and otherwise, and some of it seemed as though it would prove useful in the future.

His photos had been first- naturally, Ilia had checked his recently deleted album, only to find more than a few embarrassing mirror selfies. Most were shirtless, one featured him in boxers, and another was simply a close-up of his abs. Ilia had sent them _all_ straight to Blake, with increasingly more lewd captions as she did so. She _prayed_ that Blake would see them, and that it would cause some tension between the pair.

Back in the rest of his saved photos, Ilia had found several interesting little tidbits- the earliest pictures were of a white building with a pale-blue roof, somewhere in the middle of a run-down town. The white wood was peeling and featured the occasional hole, while a window on the bottom floor was broken. She didn't recognize any of the surroundings, nor did she particularly care. What struck her as odd was the sheer number of children in the series of photos- every single one seemed to feature at least three, mostly faunus, and all doing work to repair the outside of the building. The last in the set was of an illegible sign outside of the structure- a black background with worn, chipped, golden letters that she couldn't make out. Clearly, it had been something from his past, and she would find a way to learn what and where that building was.

It seemed like a good target.

Deeper into the gallery were pictures of a large, steppe-pyramid looking building and the campus surrounding it- Ilia recognized it as Shade Academy, in Vacuo. The location made sense, considering how scruffy she found him to be, and the photos of what she assumed were his team weren't much better. A blue-haired narcissist, a muscular, dark swordsman with an edgy neck tattoo, and someone with some sort of pirate delusion were _not_ her style, at all.

Within his photos, she found nothing else useful but pictures of _Blake_. So many pictures of Blake, her school, and her team. The sight made Ilia's blood boil, and she worked her way through deleting them all. Watching her disappear over and over was cathartic, but it wasn't enough. She wanted to see _him_ suffer… and she knew who could help her get there.

"Hurry it up, you two," Ilia complained as she stashed the scroll back in her pocket after taking one last look at a selfie of Sun. How she hated that confident, flawless smile. She slid the grimm mask over her eyes with an annoyed huff, and approached the nearby camp.

The two brothers looked at each other once more, before hastening into a faster gait. Ilia led them up to a fence made of wooden poles with two tall torches blazing in the night on either side of the gate. A pair of White Fang guards stood out front, each wielding a simple machine gun and watching with curiosity as Ilia approached through the cover of night. The sentries nodded and let the trio through immediately, and Ilia made a beeline for the temporary tent erected at the center of the encampment. The faunus working around the grounds all turned to look as she walked with a determined stride, and all whispers and conversation around the camp died down as she made her way to the tent flap. Ilia paused just before the entrance, and strained her ears to listen.

Scrape. _Click._

Ilia's blood ran cold at the noise- Adam was in, as he was scheduled to be, and the telltale noise was proof enough that he was in a bad mood. She hesitated, one hand on the leather of the flap, and found her fingers trembling. The last time Adam was in a bad mood, she'd nearly ended up injured… or maybe even worse.

"…Miss Amitola," Fennec began. "Surely you did not ask us to take you all this way, only to back down now?" he finished in a singsong tone.

Ilia felt her lip twitch in annoyance as she looked over her shoulder and hissed in a breathy whisper. "Shut _up!_ I'm listening to see if he's busy with someone else!"

"You called ahead," Corsac replied. "He said he would be waiting."

Ilia let out a frustrated growl and pushed her way through the flap and into the tent. Unlike the one at his main headquarters, this version of Adam's tent was smaller- there was no table, no map, and nowhere to hide from the tall, annoyed-looking bull faunus who stared down at Ilia as she sank to one knee.

"…sir. I bring news."

Corsac and Fennec followed Ilia in, and dropped into similar poses behind her. Wilt scraped back into its sheath one final time, before Adam let his dominant hand fall to his side.

"Then _speak_ , sister Ilia. What is the situation in Kuo Kuana?"

Ilia looked up to her boss from her kneeling position, and found something unusual- on the right lapel of his black jacket, thick, red stains splashed their way across the fabric.

They looked _fresh_.

The sight caused Ilia's words to catch in her throat. She kept her body very still as she used the cover of her mask to let her eyes wander the small space of the tent. There, hidden behind one of Adam's legs, was a black boot and pant leg trailing out under the back of the tent, a pool of blood seeping into the dirt around it. The soil around the limb had shallow track marks, and the fabric around it was ruffled, suggesting the presence of a body on the other side. Given the style of footwear and what she could see of the pants, it seemed to be the body of another member of the White Fang.

"I said, _speak!_ "

Ilia flinched, her eyes wide as she stared down into the ground beneath her knee. Her heart began to race and she found her hands shaking again as myriad scenarios of what may have happened in the tent only minutes before played out in her mind. With great effort, she closed her eyes and began to report.

"She's back, sir." Ilia paused, before daring to look back up at Adam. "Blake Belladonna has returned home to Kuo Kuana."

The tent fell silent. Corsac and Fennec rose, while Ilia remained knelt into the dirt. Adam's free hand twitched, as the other continued to hold his scabbard, Blush.

"You are _certain?_ " he stated, in an unreadable monotone.

"I saw her, personally. She didn't see me," Ilia added quickly. "I've been watching the Belladonna manor as ordered, and she arrived yesterday afternoon with another faunus. A monkey-tailed boy named Sun Wukong. They're staying with Ghira and Kali. It looks to be long-term."

Adam drew in a deep breath, his chest rising significantly and then flattening as he made the motion last longer than needed. His thumb flicked, and the razor edge of Wilt peeked over the tip of its casing. Ilia's own breath hitched as she wondered what exactly he intended to do with the blade.

"Your orders stand, Amitola. Keep watch on their home… and keep Blake there, through any means necessary. If she gets word of our assault on Haven, it's going to complicate things."

"Yes, sir. What of her companion?"

Adam bared his teeth as his sword scraped back into its sheath. "I don't care… but keep him alive. Keep them _both_ alive. Blake is mine to deal with, once all of this is over. Maim him, if you can, but I want to be the one to remove him from her life."

"Understood."

"If I may," Corsac cut in, "Blake and this… _Sun_ character made mention of the White Fang's activities at Beacon Academy to the Belladonna family. Ghira is now aware of a fragment of the truth of our society."

Adam paused, and drew another labored breath. "So long as their family makes no move against us, continue to observe and report. We will deal with them when the time is right."

Ilia let her eyes wander to the corpse mere feet away. She found herself unable to draw her gaze from the body, and her mind rested on what exactly would happen to the Belladonna family when Adam ascended to lead the White Fang. For a moment, the black pants turned to deep purple knee-high boots in her mind, and she felt her blood freeze. Throughout all of her time in the organization, she knew that her continued commitment to Adam would end with someone dead, but this was the first time that the thought became real, in her mind. The next body she found could easily turn out to be Blake's.

She balled her fist in the dirt, before beginning to move her hand toward Sun's scroll, in her pocket. Halfway through the motion, she let her hand drop down onto the ground, instead. Perhaps seeing the device would be the thing to push the situation over the edge, and Ilia found that she was no longer sure which side she wanted to fall toward.

The Belladonnas were her responsibility to watch, until they were _dealt_ with. How far was too far?

"Corsac. Fennec. Your disposal services are needed." Adam gestured toward the fallen member of their organization, and the two brothers moved to get to work. "Ilia. Return to Kuo Kuana, and contact me if… _when_ Ghira becomes a problem."

Ilia nodded and rose, turning away as she left the tent in a hurry. Her steps quickly picked up into a run, her heart pounding as she worked to put as much distance between herself and the body as she could. With one wrong move, it could have been _her_.

It _would_ be Blake, in time, unless something changed, and her blood would be on Ilia's hands.

She reached up and removed her mask as she made her way back toward the gates and gestured for the guards to open them for her. They obliged, and Ilia kept up her run onto the beach. The compact, pristine sand seemed to hiss as she kicked up sprays of it into the night air, and Ilia focused on the noise to try to draw her mind from the sudden uncertain thoughts that plagued her. Once out of sight of the rest of the White Fang, she took out Sun's scroll once again, and began to work her way through the pictures.

Ilia's thumb worked quickly as she flicked through the album- selfies, food, the Belladonna manor- she bit her lip as she continued her search, looking for _anything_ of Blake that she may have missed, and forgotten to delete. She found nothing in her search, and resorted to opening the chain of fake texts that she'd sent to her former friend using Sun's name. Much to her surprise, she found that Blake had finally replied.

 _8:39pm_

 _I know it's you, Ilia. Stay away from Sun, and my family. If I see you, there's going to be hell to pay. I thought we were friends, but it looks like you chose the White Fang over me. I know that I left without warning and you probably feel like I slighted you, but I also know that if you're willing to throw in your lot with murderers and terrorists that leaving you was the right decision after all. YOU leave Kuo Kuana, or you're going to start seeing things you won't like._

The message ended with another black, cat-eared heart, followed by a banana.

Ilia's heart sank to the depths of her stomach as she read the accusatory words, and she hovered her thumbs over the digital keyboard with intent to reply. A sickening swirl of anger, heartbreak, and nausea pulsated through her stomach, and she found her vision of the words blurring as a droplet from her eye fell onto the screen, obscuring the words. After several minutes of consideration, she found that she was at a loss, and snapped the scroll closed. She turned and made her way back to the boat to await Corsac and Fennec, while wiping her eyes against the skin of her arm. Ilia resolved that she had a lot of thinking to do on the ride back.

* * *

"So, this Ilia girl," Sun said, breaking the silence. He and Blake had been searching their assigned quadrant of the mansion for over an hour in tense silence, and come up with nothing. Blake looked over her shoulder to him, their backs pressed against each other as they walked, slowly, with weapons drawn.

"…she was one of my closest friends. You met her at the market, and it's pretty clear that she has your scroll. What else do you need to know?" Blake's tone had an edge to it as she replied, and Sun chose his next words carefully. He knew that making small talk would only upset her further, and so, he decided to make the conversation meaningful.

"Well, you know her a lot better than I do. Do you think there's any chance we can get through to her? Do you _want_ to get through to her?"

Sun nearly fell over as he no longer felt the sensation of Blake's back against his. He stumbled a bit and caught himself as she stopped abruptly and fixed him with uncertain eyes. Sun turned to face her fully as the two stood together in the center of the dining room that he had passed through earlier that morning. "Blake…?"

"…we grew up together. Here. In Kuo Kuana." Blake sheathed Gambol Shroud and folded her arms beneath her chest. Sun slung his staff up and over his right shoulder, figuring that the search was essentially over. "We've known each other since I was six. We used to play together, Sun. We used to run through the woods, play hide and seek, and exchange secrets while staying up too late until my parents yelled at us. We were closer than I've ever been with another friend, and it lasted until the beginning of our teenage years. She signed on to the White Fang alongside me, after an incident with her parents, and it looks like she took my departure personally."

"That makes some measure of sense, at least. Did you tell her, before you left?" Sun approached Blake, and stopped within arm's reach.

"I… no," Blake confessed. "I wasn't planning to leave, it just… happened. Adam and I were in the middle of a mission, and things just got to be too much. He wanted to kill a train full of humans just to steal some dust. He never asked me how I felt about it, and he expected me to cover it up, afterward. After months of watching him get more and more extreme, I'd had enough. I escaped, and Ilia was left behind."

"Hey, you did what you had to do. If she knew, or _cared_ what Adam was planning, she would've gotten out, too," Sun replied. "You think she stayed behind out of spite?"

"That does sound like her. I mean, look at all of the messages she's sent me so far. If that doesn't scream spite, I don't know what does." Blake threw her hands up with a heavy sigh. "This is pointless. She's a chameleon, Sun. If we haven't found her by now, she's either not here or not moving. We should find my parents, and call it a night."

Sun slid his staff down and around his shoulder and planted it firmly into the floor, before leaning into it. "Hey, you never answered the question. Sure, she's making our lives harder right now, but do you want to try to fix things? I mean, I can get over the whole scroll thievery ordeal, if you still care about her."

"I didn't answer because I don't know, Sun. I need time… but my instinct says I want to find her, and sort things out. There's no way my childhood friend would stand for the things that the White Fang did at Beacon."

Sun shrugged, and Blake blinked in surprise as he patted her upon the shoulder. "Then it's settled. We work on finding Ilia, and I'll help you get a one-on-one talk with her. Gives us a goal, while we're here," Sun offered with a wink.

"It does, yes," Blake replied. Her cat ears suddenly twitched upward and she whirled in place at a noise that Sun didn't hear. He followed her eyes to the top of the stairs, and found Ghira and Kali arriving at the top seconds later. Ghira appeared unarmed, while Kali was holding a set of twin pistols and looking rather bored.

"Kali and I found nothing, and the house attendants have reported much the same. It seems that Ilia either isn't in the mansion, or she's gotten better at hiding."

The pair of parents began to descend the steps, and Sun moved to meet them at the landing.

"Sorry to bother you guys, but we figured it's better to be safe. Are there cameras?"

Kali nodded. "There are. We'll have the house staff check them overnight, though they only cover a few sections of the manor. I think it may be time for an upgrade to our security system. I'll get on that tomorrow morning."

Ghira folded his arms. "Indeed. For now, though, no one should be alone at night, as a precaution."

The entire room fell silent. Sun and Blake looked at each other with blank expressions, as did Ghira and Kali, before Sun found himself staring up at Ghira with a nervous grin.

"Mr. B, I mean…"

Ghira held up a hand for silence, while closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "… _fine_. Keep each other company. I still have an assignment for you in the morning, so don't stay up too late… _cuddling._ "

Sun could practically feel Blake's glare boring a hole through his back as he intentionally avoided her eyes while trying to dodge Ghira's. He ended up looking at a particularly interesting table, as he replied.

"…thanks, sir. We'll get straight to bed."

"Good." Ghira turned and began to make his way back up the steps. Kali shot Sun a wink before she followed her husband. He watched them go, and felt a stinging pain in his arm as soon as they slipped out of sight.

" _Hey!_ " Sun whined, as Blake stared him down with a fist raised.

"You told him we _cuddled?_ " she hissed.

"Well, I had to tell him the truth! Gah!" Sun winced as Blake landed another brutal punch into his arm.

"You could have just said we talked, and that would've been fine! Now come on, you dork." Blake rolled her eyes and led the way up the steps, leaving Sun to catch up. He walked after her, collapsing his weapon as he went.

"Where are we going?"

"…to cuddle, of course," Blake replied with a mischievous smirk.

Sun brought his palm to his forehead with a resounding smack, and followed her to his room.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Most of the chapters have been pre-written and ready to post for a while before they go up thus far, so I haven't been updating the notes as well as I should. Let me take a moment to say thank you all so much for all of the feedback on this story! It's been a bit of an adventure getting back into writing after a 10ish year hiatus, but it's definitely been a fun ride. Based on what some of you hope to see and what reviews have said about certain characters thus far, a few reactions to future chapters are going to be very interesting. Next update will be on Monday, 2/11.

I also went back and fixed a missing word in Chapter 2, as I needed to reread something there before writing 12. You people saw nothing.

 _Nothing_ , I tell you.

 **-RD**


	12. Manly Men

Sun stared into the glass of the bathroom mirror, unsatisfied. He ruffled his hair once again, and began tilting his face at various angles to check his appearance before scowling. Again, he made a pass to adjust his short blonde styling, and came up less than thrilled with the result.

"You look _fine_ , Sun. It's just my dad," came the annoyed, groggy voice of Blake, still nestled within the blankets. Sun had barely slept, and it showed- he was beginning to develop bags under his eyes that did little to help his thoughts about his appearance.

"Well, 'just your dad' made it pretty clear that he wants me at my best for whatever he's got planned, and I get the feeling he's not a fan of me to begin with," Sun replied with a defeated tone. "I just don't want to screw this up. Again."

"And you won't," Blake grumbled as she began to sit up. Sun watched her in the mirror, tangled within the blankets and with her hair in disarray. Somehow, he found the messy look even more attractive than her usual meticulous appearance. Perhaps because it was for his eyes only.

"I'm glad one of us is confident, at least." Sun sighed, and turned to face her as he leaned back and rested his butt and palms against the edge of the counter. "Every single one of our conversations thus far have been tense, and I mean… reconnecting with your parents is important. I care about you, so I care about them. Seeing him upset makes me feel weird, especially when I'm the cause."

Blake thumped back down into her fortress of blankets, and pulled a pillow over her head to block out the subtle sunlight creeping in through the paper of the balcony door. She mumbled through the obstruction as Sun approached the bed and sat down next to her. "He's just terrified that the weird, muscular monkey man is going to defile his precious little girl. I'll put my thoughts into a conversation with him, sometime soon. Maybe once you two get back. Maybe tomorrow. I just need more sleep. What time is it, anyway?"

Sun looked over at the clock on the wall. "5:48 in the morning. Sleep, Blake. I want you feeling rested." He placed a hand atop the blanket-covered lump, praying that he would land somewhere on her side or arm instead of her rear. "I know you're stressed out."

There was a brief pause before Blake wriggled forward in a halfhearted motion to peek out at him from beneath her pillow-crown. "…and I know you are, too. Tomorrow, _you're_ sleeping in, and I'm not letting you get up until you start looking less like a zombie. We'll be lazy for a day, and then… maybe explore the town, together? We need a break from all of this drama and tension."

Sun's smile grew wider as he listened, and he began to rub at Blake's side from atop the blankets. "…you know… what you just said is what your friends, myself included, have been trying to get you to see for a long time, now. You've changed, Blake, and it's for the better. I think if you stay on this path, the answers are going to start to come to you more easily."

Blake looked him over through weary, sleep-deprived eyes. In a smooth motion, her hand snaked out from beneath the tangle of fabric and rested atop Sun's. "…and I have you to thank for a lot of that. You, and… Yang." Blake's voice trailed off as she said the name, and for a moment, she seemed to be looking _through_ Sun rather than at him. He knew well that any mention of her team was off limits, and he was unsure what to say. Fortunately, Blake spoke again to break the tension.

"…but that's a topic for another time. Once you survive my dad again, tomorrow, it's a _you_ day. I'm not _letting_ you get up until you're rested, and then we're going to just… 'chill', as you would say. I won't take 'no' for an answer," Blake finished with an intense stare. The expression reminded Sun quite a bit of Kali's smug and knowing glances, and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Doesn't sound like I have much of a choice, do I?" Sun lifted his hand and gently entwined his fingers with Blake's. She looked bemused by the gesture, and her left cat ear flicked at his touch.

"You really don't. This whole time, you've been following my lead and backing me up while I wander, both literally and not. Now, I'm leading you for your benefit. Just go with it, Sun." Blake curled her fingers, pulling Sun's hand closer to herself as she did so. He offered no resistance, and let her drag his hand to her lips. Blake hesitated before planting a gentle, breathy kiss upon the back of his hand.

Sun's grin only grew in size at her touch, and the realization that her lips were not only soft, but _warm._

"You got it. For now, though, I'll deal with your dad, and see if I can't work on winning him over a little more."

"Just be yourself." Blake let his hand go, and Sun rose from the bed with a nod. He offered her a tiny, two-fingered salute before he slipped out the door. "…that's how you're winning me over, after all," Blake said to no one in particular as she adjusted her positioning and drew her captive pillow down into a tight cuddle. With a contented exhale, she closed her eyes and sank back into a peaceful, much-needed sleep.

* * *

The events leading to Sun following Ghira through the forest while shirtless at the crack of dawn were a blur to him, but that hardly mattered as he focused on the task ahead. Coffee was had, each male had downed a simple meal of toast and an egg to hold them over, and then they had set out into the forest of exotic trees behind the manor. The foliage extended a fair distance toward the nearby mountains, and grew denser as they approached the dust-colored peaks.

Ghira led the two of them onward while shouldering a large, heavy-looking, black canvas bag. Sun had neglected to ask questions, wanting anything but to annoy his elder on their journey. Instead, he kept his attention on the plant life as he followed along, until Ghira's voice rumbled through the early morning silence.

"So. What are your views on manual labor?"

Sun blinked, unsure how to answer. "Uh… what do you mean? As a job, or a hobby, or…?"

"No," Ghira shook his head. "The value of it, in general. Do you ever go out and just… _enjoy_ work?" Ghira dropped the bag into the dirt and grass as he came to an abrupt stop, and Sun jumped a bit at the noise. He mulled over the question as he took in their surroundings- a nondescript, seemingly unimportant collection of trees, ferns, and bushes.

"…I never really felt the need unless there was a goal, to be honest. I've been physically working on and off since I was just a little kid. I guess it's calming? Doing repairs always gave me some time to think to myself. It's nice, sometimes, to just get away and work with my hands," Sun offered with a shrug.

"Repairs?" Ghira inquired.

"…yeah. In Vacuo, I… got pretty good at fixing buildings. Interior and exterior," Sun replied. He moved toward the canvas bag to avoid Ghira's eyes, and began to unzip it.

"…I will ask nothing more." Ghira crossed his arms as he watched. Sun peeled the halves of the bag apart, and revealed a plethora of classical woodcutter's axes strapped down against the inside of the luggage.

"…thanks. Axes…?"

"Axes," Ghira affirmed with a nod. He joined Sun's side at the bag, and slid an axe from its securing loop.

"Is this the part where you dismember me and scatter the pieces so I don't date your daughter?" Sun asked with a full-on cheesy grin. Ghira didn't return it, and instead spun the axe in his hand as he took a deep breath.

"…I may not like you, Mr. Wukong," he said, "but I… will admit that should such a thing come to pass, my daughter could do _far_ worse. Even so… don't push your luck."

"Noted. I'll take it," Sun replied as he selected his own axe. He mimicked the spinning motion and watched as the rising sun glistened off the metal of the razor sharp blade. "So, are we cutting down trees?"

"We are." Ghira rolled his axe-bearing arm and cracked his neck. "Our housekeepers could easily handle the gathering of firewood, but I elect to do it myself, instead. It gives me some time alone, away from paperwork, the White Fang, and my duties to Kuo Kuana. You may as well come along, and experience the sensations of control and solitude for yourself."

"Yes, sir," Sun replied. His lack of sleep caused the axe to feel heavier than it otherwise would, and simply standing straight was beginning to grate on his nerves between the exhaustion and tension of the previous, restless night. "I'll do my best."

"…go on. See what you can do, on your own," Ghira said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Despite the distinct feeling that Ghira was setting him up for failure, Sun strode forward and eyed up a decently-sized tree. The trunk was bigger around than Ghira's torso, and looked as hard as stone. Having never held an axe before, he adjusted his grip several times, before leveling the head of the tool perpendicular to the bark of the palm tree and taking a deep breath. He lined up his target by touching the blade to the tree several times, and swung hard into the wood. The axe blade stuck inside of the tree, and Sun recoiled a bit as he felt the reverberation of the impact travel up through his arms with a painful twinge.

He had _barely_ made a dent, and he struggled to wrench the axe back out of the wood before falling over onto his rear. Sun let out a sigh as he felt his free hand mash into the dirt, and braced himself for the booming laugh from Ghira at his complete failure.

It never came.

"…I have seen worse." Sun watched with confusion as a massive hand came into view, but he didn't hesitate to take it and pull himself up.

"Well, that's comforting. Any tips?" Sun asked as he stood and dusted off the front of his pants. He planted the head of the axe into the ground and leaned over it, feeling woozy.

"Several. Are you certain that you are up to this?" Ghira replied as he leveled his own axe at the resistant tree, the blade at an angle.

Sun stood straight immediately, and tried to perk up with limited success. "Yeah! Of course!" The false enthusiasm put quite a strain on his mental state, and Sun found his smile turning into a grimace against his wishes.

"…first, relax. Tension will not serve you, here. Strike at an angle, and cut a wedge into the side of the bark in the direction you wish the tree to fall," Ghira instructed before sinking his axe into the side of the wood. A resounding _thud_ echoed throughout the area, and Sun whistled as he beheld the comparatively deep cut and Ghira's skillful removal of the tool from the wood.

"That's a lot more technical than I thought it would be, to be honest."

"What, were you just expecting to hack at it and then run away as it fell over in whatever direction?" Ghira asked incredulously.

"…yes. Yes I was," Sun admitted sheepishly as he approached a new tree of his own. He tried to follow Ghira's instructions, only to be met with criticism.

"…a deeper angle. Aim for a 45," Ghira deadpanned as he worked to fell his own tree.

"Yes, sir."

Sun drew a deep breath as he gripped the axe, his knuckles turning white while he tried to find the perfect angle. In that time, Ghira had taken three more swings, and transitioned to the other side of his tree. Sun tried to block out the distraction, and swung again. He greatly misjudged the position of the blade, and ended up sinking only half of it into the bark. With an annoyed grumble, he made a rocking motion to dislodge the blade and swing again, hitting into the same shallow cut.

"Better. Continue, until you reach the halfway point within the wood." Ghira put one last chop into the opposite side of his tree, and the massive plant began to creak and buckle under its own weight before leaning toward the carved wedge and beginning to fall. The giant palm crashed down into the brush with an echoing thud, and Sun found his nerves shredded by the noise.

"That's... new. Uh, how many trees do we need to down?"

" _Fell_ ," Ghira corrected. He approached another and rested his palm against it, axe over his shoulder as he watched and waited. "Let us try to bring down five each. That should last the manor for a month, or potentially more."

Sun's face fell as he considered that he hadn't even managed to get halfway through his first. He expected that _five_ could take him into the early evening.

"…yes, sir…"

* * *

The sun slowly rose and crested the mountains as the duo continued their work, largely in silence. Sun had managed to fell two trees, albeit sloppily. Ghira had reached his final one, and seemed to be largely unaffected beyond deep, controlled breathing. In contrast, Sun's face, shoulders, and chest were slick with a sheen of heavy sweat, and the belt area of his shorts had turned a darker shade of denim from the pooling moisture.

Once again, Sun got to work chopping as Ghira watched. Comparatively, his blows were sloppy, uneven, and jagged. His arms grew heavy as he reached the halfway point within the wood, and Sun felt as though he might topple over as he made the few steps to the other side of the tree. He kept his eyes trained on the core of the tree, and yelped in surprise as he felt a giant hand pressing into the center of his chest. Sun's forward motion stopped immediately against Ghira's limb, and his nerves seemed to amplify the sensation of pressure in his tired state.

"Stop," Ghira commanded. Sun looked up at the elder male in shock. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, setting him both more awake and slightly numb.

"What? Why?" he asked, his voice unsure.

"Because you look ready to keel over. Your work has not been terrible, for a first attempt."

"Yeah, and you've doubled it." Sun shook his head and stepped back to free his chest from Ghira's palm. "Just let me do this, okay?"

"To what end? You're still just a boy. In truth, I did not expect you to manage the task in a timely fashion, or potentially at all. You have no need to press on in hopes of impressing me," Ghira finished.

Sun stared up at Ghira with a defiant expression, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. "Yeah, actually. I do." With a huff, he walked around to the other side of the tree, relying on a second wind as he wound up his axe.

Ghira grunted and rolled his eyes as he watched. "At this rate, you're going to injure yourself. Again, you need to stop. Know your limits."

"Limits are made to be stretched," Sun replied with a strained voice as he sunk the axe into the wood. The cut was at a deep angle, despite needing to be at a straight horizontal on the second side. He stared at his work, anger and shame washing over him as he realized that he had already made a costly mistake.

"Not when you seem as though you haven't slept since your arrival in Kuo Kuana. That cut should be l-"

"Level, I _know!_ " Sun interrupted in a frustrated voice. He pulled straight back to remove the axe from the tree in frustration, and ended up tugging fruitlessly as he forgot about the mistaken angle. With his palms slick with sweat, he lost his grip on the tool and took several steps backward to stay standing as the axe remained wedged into the bark.

Ghira paused, and let his arms drop to his sides as he regarded Sun with a look of concern. "…is all of this… because of _me?_ "

Sun groaned and turned to face Ghira, leaving the axe in the tree as he ran a hand through his soaked hair, exasperated. "What? What do you mean? The fact that I suck at this?"

Ghira approached Sun, looking unamused. In one swift motion, he grabbed the handle of the axe and yanked it up and out of the tree, before letting the tool fall to the forest floor. " _No_. Your sleeplessness, tension, and attitude, at present. Your stubborn insistence on harming yourself through carelessness and defiance. Be truthful. Have I brought this on?"

"Partially, yeah!" Sun admitted in an angry tone as he stood up straight and faced Ghira down. "How else am I supposed to feel? I screwed up when we first met, I got caught sneaking around the house that same night, and you came down on me. Look, I get it. I really do. Blake's your daughter, and I'm an unknown. You probably feel like you don't know her right now, since you've been apart so long, but you don't know _me_ , either! One of the first things you said was that you 'don't like me', and you've said it again twice, today included. We're _faunus!_ Do you know how many times I've heard some variation of that, from people I barely know?"

Sun threw his arm out to the side in an exaggerated gesture, his anger rising as his filter deteriorated. "What were you hoping to get out of that? Were you _trying_ to make me feel like shit, because that's what happened. I've been thinking about that since my first night in town, and how I can fix it, and every time we talk it feels like any progress we make together just gets erased by default. I don't know what to do to make you even give me an honest chance, and right now, I kinda feel like I don't even deserve one," Sun said as he looked down into the grass.

"I still don't totally understand Blake's situation, but as I learn more and more, I'm starting to see just how big it is. She's leaning into me, and I'm comfortable with that. I'm fine with people relying on me, and I like helping out and fixing their problems. But _this_ problem, with Adam, and Ilia, and even her team after Beacon… I don't even know where to begin. I'm just winging it and putting on a brave face, for her sake. I feel like we're going to hit a point where Blake needs me, and I won't have an answer. She might run, again, or she might start worrying about _me_ , and that's the last thing she needs."

Sun let his arm drop, before he brought it back up into his hair. "I hate feeling useless. I _hate_ feeling like I'm letting people down, and I'll go nuts if I end up making Blake feel even more alone because I can't get my own shit together. Having you against me just adds to it, and it's causing tension between you and her. I know it is. I just want to slowly become a part of your family so I can keep helping her, because she's worth it, to me… but I have no idea what to do. I have no idea what to say around you, or how to interact with a father figure."

The boy looked up at Ghira with a pained expression, and found him looking unreadable in return as he continued. "I… never had that. I don't even know my parents. I was stuck in a foster home until I got sent to the academy for defending it from a grimm attack. I don't _get_ the idea of 'family', and I thought maybe meeting Blake's would help me figure it out. I was hoping that maybe _I_ could start feeling better, too, after meeting you guys, instead of like the unwanted runt who was just dumped off at some shack for kids that were too much of a burden. Instead, I just feel like I did before, or maybe even worse." Sun let his eyes fall back to the ground as all of his anger left him, replaced with sincere longing and guilt. His motivation rushed out of his heart and mind like air from a balloon that someone had stopped pinching closed, and he suddenly felt as though he just wanted to slump into the grass and decay.

"What do I have to do to just have a _chance_ at being something more than an annoyance to you?" Sun finished, his voice small.

Ghira stood silent through the speech, his expression unchanging as he absorbed the boy's thoughts and took them to heart. Slowly, he offered a hand.

"…you just did it. Your honesty is something I am unused to, and for what it is worth, my intention was never to drive you to this point. You made several good points, and… I suppose I should say that I'm… sorry, Sun."

Sun clasped the hand with a desperate grip. The words did nothing to alleviate his physical burdens, but he allowed himself an uncertain sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Mr. B… but I'm just like that. I live inside my own head a lot more than I let on, and some things people say just… buzz around in there for days. _Weeks_. It's torture."

"I can see that, now. However, that is not my biggest point of concern," Ghira said as he furrowed his brow. "Is all of this really a means to an end, for the sake of helping my daughter back onto her feet? All of your own wants and needs are an afterthought?"

Sun let his hand slip from Ghira's, and rubbed at his bicep, ashamed. "Yeah. That's how it's always been. Before Blake, it was another friend I had at the Academy. He needed some support, so I gave it to him as best I could. You probably picked up on the fact that I'm not exactly thrilled with myself, so I just… take a back seat to the people I care about."

"I certainly did, yes." Ghira paused, and stooped to pick up the fallen axe. "We're going to have to work on that."

"…we?" Sun asked as he let go of his arm.

"Yes. _We._ " Ghira moved back to the canvas bag and slipped the axe into its designated storage loop. "Let us finish packing here, and then go and get some _real_ food, on the way home." The larger male offered a rare smirk, and Sun felt an oddly pleasant sensation within his chest as he cracked his knuckles.

"Sounds good, Mr. B."

"…call me Ghira."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

As merendinoemiliano pointed out in a review, Ilia did grow up elsewhere, and I forgot that detail while writing since I didn't bother to double check. For the purposes of this story, I'll be keeping her childhood in Menagerie to deepen the connection with Blake and give her more reason to hold such a grudge.

As far as updates… some of you have probably noticed that this chapter is up a day early. There's a distinct reason for that- **I'm speeding up temporarily**. Valentine's Day means nothing to me, but it seems incredibly fitting for a _certain_ chapter to fall on that date, and I figure that some people would appreciate having something romantic to read that features Sun and Blake on the holiday. Therefore, the update schedule is now every other day for a bit and going to be:

2/12: Chapter 13

2/14: Chapter 14

After that, I'll go back to updates every three days, meaning that Chapter 15 will go up on Saturday the 17th.

 **-RD**


	13. Scents

Blake Belladonna's eyes fluttered open as the rays of sunlight seeping in through the paper walls of the guest room finally reached her face. Instinctively, she closed them once again and buried her nose deep into the pillow held firmly in her grasp, before rolling over to put the early morning sun behind herself. With a wide, drawn-out yawn, she opened her eyes once again and looked at the clock on the far wall- it was 8:39 in the morning, and her cuddle partner was long gone.

As the disappointing realization that she was alone washed over her, Blake let go of the pillow and leaned up on one elbow to take in the features of the room- everything seemed to be in place, bar one curious addition. Sun's white shirt was draped over the back of a chair near to the door, as though it had been hastily tossed from the doorway. Blake smirked to herself as she wondered what circumstances led to him leaving the house with her father while shirtless, and resigned to leave it a mystery as she dragged herself to the edge of the bed to let her legs dangle.

With her toes pointed downward, Blake was just barely able to run them along the cold, wooden surface of the floor. In one smooth motion, she pushed herself up and off the bed to land on the balls of her feet with catlike grace, making almost no sound as she balanced, heels off the floor. Slowly, she lowered them onto the wood and brought a hand over to the silken strip of fabric holding her nightie together before undoing the knot and pulling it free of the loops around her waist. Blake let the fabric naturally spread and fall to the sides, and then shuffled her shoulders while moving her arms out to let the entire robe fall to the floor in a pool of black silk.

Blake stood almost completely naked bar a small black thong, and reached her arms high as she rose onto her tiptoes, stretching fully with a grunt of effort. As she felt the pleasant ripple of effort coursing through her muscles, she let out a breath and allowed her feet to fall flat to the floor once again. She strode forward toward the chair supporting Sun's shirt, and lifted the garment with her right hand to inspect it. The material was slightly wrinkled, and probably in need of washing soon. She didn't imagine that his shorts were in a much better state, and a plan began to formulate in her mind. Blake made a cursory check of the room to make sure that she was alone before she brought the shirt up to her nose, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply.

If someone had asked her what Sun smelled like, she would have had no idea how to answer. Not once had she actively taken note of his natural smell, and yet, the aroma of the shirt was unmistakably _him_. There was something masculine, warm, and comforting about it that she couldn't quite put her finger on. While she wouldn't be caught dead sniffing his shirt, or any other part of him, Blake made a note to start paying more attention to the pleasant smell when she could.

After relishing his scent for a moment, Blake whipped the shirt up and over one of her shoulders as she made her way to the bathroom. With a twist of the handle, she let herself inside, only to find that Sun had definitely made himself at home and bought the essentials while out shopping with Kali. A new-looking toothbrush rested on the porcelain rim of the sink, with the head balancing over the basin itself. A full tube of toothpaste rested on the other side, as did a small black manual razor. The towel rack across from the toilet played host to a brand new, sky-blue towel, and unfamiliar bottles of shampoo, body wash, and a black pouf were waiting inside of the shower.

Blake draped Sun's shirt over the doorknob as she pulled the door closed behind herself while flicking on the lights, and turned to lift Sun's toothbrush. She thought about going to get her own to add it to the bathroom, but found that such a thing would have taken far too much effort. She considered brushing her teeth using her finger and toothpaste, but thought better of it. After all, Sun didn't seem the type to be bothered by a few germs, and after she had so valiantly sacrificed her toothbrush for him, he _owed_ her.

A devilish smile crept across her features as she squeezed a generous amount of toothpaste onto the brush and slid it into her mouth. She looked herself over in the mirror as she got to work, and found that for the first time in a long time, she actually looked as though she had gotten a full night of sleep. Being around Sun and having someone to hold again at night seemed to be what she had been missing, and she resolved to move herself into the guest room regardless of whether or not her father allowed it. For a moment, she considered the idea of moving Sun into _her_ room instead, but the proximity to Ghira's office made the option less attractive.

That, and the fact that her sheets didn't smell like him, while the ones in the guest room probably already did.

Blake spat into the sink and washed out her mouth with water before placing the brush back where she'd found it and reaching up a hand to rub at the side of her neck. She had a feeling that Sun would still be away for at least a few more hours, and she wanted to spend a little time at the market herself, both in preparation for pampering Sun on the following day and to familiarize herself with the changes to Kuo Kuana.

Naturally, that meant that she needed to make herself presentable. Blake made her way across the small room and looped her thumbs into the straps of her underwear as she began to slide them down her legs. With two large steps, she walked her way out of the thong and placed it upon the counter as she slipped into the shower. She slid the glass door shut and closed her eyes as she turned the dial to 'H'.

A waterfall of warm droplets descended onto her bare skin, and Blake couldn't help but let out a small, appreciative moan as the sensation washed over her. She briefly ran her hands through her hair and over her faunus ears as she worked out a few tangles, and then opened her eyes to blink away some of the droplets from her lashes. Blake began the process of showering properly, and snatched the bottle of shampoo to squeeze a large pool of green liquid into her hand before running it through her hair. She massaged the goop into her locks and raked her scalp with her nails, all the while thinking through her journey back home.

Had Sun not followed her, there was a good chance that she would have been either shipwrecked or injured by the massive leviathan grimm that had attacked her vessel. After the fight, she hadn't spoken to him for two days, and yet, he had waited patiently for her to break, going so far as to bring food from the cantina to her room on board when she refused to leave. Silently, she had been grateful, while outwardly she protested. Each night since then, she found her thoughts drifting to how thankful she was to have him at her side, and how he had helped her see that she could be better.

Blake grabbed for Sun's pouf, and squeezed the other bottle present in the shower to coat the mesh with a thick, yellow liquid that seemed to shine in the light. Curious as to what she was about to rub all over herself, she lifted the bottle closer to her eyes and squinted. The label identified the liquid as being scented with buttermilk and honey. Blake lifted the pouf and gave it a sniff, only to find that she _definitely_ approved- doubly so if she could bury her face into someone's chest who smelled as good as the body wash.

Eagerly, she began to run the pouf over her skin as she set the bottle down. While she kept up the cleansing ritual, her thoughts drifted to her conversation with Sun earlier that morning. The memory came rushing back, seemingly unbidden as she worked to clean her chest and stomach. For the first time since Sun had joined her side, she had mentioned _Yang_. When he had first brought up team RWBY while on the ship, she had snapped at him and told him that such a thing was off limits, indefinitely. She knew then how wrong that was, and nothing had made it any more right up to that moment.

Soon, she decided, she would have that conversation with him. She would admit to what she was feeling about her tendency to run away, and Blake prayed that Sun would have some magic words and a soft embrace to make her feel better. In truth, Blake ran because she knew that none of them, be it Ruby, Weiss, or Yang herself could have done anything to lift her spirits and make what she had seen and suffered through at Beacon something capable of facing. As the days dragged on, however, she was feeling more and more that if anyone could do it, it was _him_.

Blake hesitated as she found her hand and the pouf making its way over the vicious scar that Adam had left her with, not even a month before. The flesh where his sword had pierced her had turned ugly and raised into a jagged, lumpy keloid, and the sight of it brought her shame and a grim reminder of how much pain she had caused her friends. Blake looped the pouf around the shower dial and brought a hand down to gently touch the surface of the scar. The feeling of her fingers over the warped flesh brought her no physical pain, but she could feel her heart sink as she examined the wound.

Thoughts of Adam swirled through her mind as she let her hand drop to her side, and she once again closed her eyes to try to shut them out. Blake strained both sets of ears to let the resounding deluge of water against the bottom of the shower overtake her mind, and she focused only upon the noise until she found the horrifying image of the grimm mask and black horns fading away. Once she had successfully blocked him out of her thoughts, she opened her eyes and wrenched the dial back to the middle, killing the downpour of water immediately.

Blake let out a heavy sigh and shook her head as she slid the glass to the side and stepped back out into the warm air of the bathroom. She reached over and grabbed for Sun's towel, before slinging the fluffy material over her head and beginning to ruffle her hair. It was only then that she realized she _would_ need to make a trip to her bathroom after all to retrieve her brush, a bra, and some underwear. Blake groaned at the inconvenience, but decided that if she was going to walk all that way, she would _definitely_ be making the return trip to claim half of the guest bathroom with her own supplies.

After thoroughly drying her skin, Blake brought the towel down and around her waist to tie it off into a makeshift skirt. With a small chuckle, she lifted Sun's shirt from the door handle and slipped her arms through the holes. The garment was _far_ too large and hung down to her upper thighs, but Blake didn't mind at all as she secured a few buttons in the center to cover her chest. She moved a hand to flick off the lights before noticing her thong, discarded upon the counter, and lifted it with two fingers. Slowly and carefully, she looped it around the door handle where Sun's shirt had been.

Blake allowed herself a toothy grin as she turned the lights off and stepped back out into the bedroom. Sun was in for one hell of a surprise, the next time he brushed his teeth.

* * *

Once again, Blake found herself in the guest bathroom. She had successfully claimed a portion of the space as her own by adding her toothbrush, hair brush, pouf, makeup, and towel to the room, and decided to keep the thong on the door handle for later. Before leaving, she checked herself over in the mirror once again, and found that she was _very_ satisfied with the result.

Blake had chosen to keep her thigh-high, dark purple boots and black pants, but discarded her crop top in favor of Sun's shirt. She had experimented for several minutes with how she wanted to wear the garment, and settled for half-tucking the overlong tails of the shirt and leaving the top buttons open _just_ enough to show off the edges of her lacy black bra. Her look was topped off by light purple eyeshadow, Gambol Shroud strapped to her side, and more confidence and self-assured smirks than could be reasonably allowed to one woman. Blake shot herself a wink in the mirror and turned to hit the lights, before leaving the bathroom.

The clock read 9:47 as Blake spared it a glance while leaving the room, and her stomach growled in protest at putting off breakfast for so long. She made her way down the hall and to the stairs, finding her mind in agreement with her body as she thought through all of the available food options in the home. As she descended the steps, she decided that she would try to cook something on her own, rather than ask an attendant, but found her hopes dashed as she nearly ran into her mother while lost in thought.

"Careful, Blake," Kali teased. She was holding a tray with a glass of orange juice and a plate of sardines, buttered toast, and bacon, seemingly on her way to the guest room. Kali did a double take as she looked over Blake's new outfit, and her lips broke out into a mischievous grin. "…that is one _hell_ of a strong signal to send, both to Sun _and_ Ghira. Nice," she said with approval.

" _Mom!_ " Blake whined with a scarlet blush as her ears flattened to her skull. She held on to the banister with her feet on different steps, blocking her mother's path.

"What? Maybe don't wear your friend's clothing if you don't want me to start getting naughty ideas, hm?" Kali lilted with a quirked brow.

"You _always_ have naughty ideas, about everyone and everything. I'm only now starting to realize just how filthy they are," Blake replied while rolling her eyes.

"That's because you're finally old enough to catch on. Come on downstairs, and eat something. Sun and Ghira are still out, chopping wood." Kali turned and made her way down into the dining room.

" _Chopping wood?_ Can't the house staff do that?" Blake asked incredulously. Kali set the tray down at a table and waved a hand with a heavy sigh, as though the question had been asked several times before.

"Of _course_ they can. It's some stupid, primal… _man_ thing. I stopped bothering him about it ages ago." Kali slid into a seat and put an elbow up on the table while using her hand to cup her chin as Blake sat across from her. "Honestly, I think it's a good sign. If he's inviting Sun out for some macho woodcutting bullshit, that's most likely his way of trying to bond. I just don't know if Sun is into the whole manly-man thing."

"Sun is _absolutely_ manly," Blake replied defensively. Her blush deepened as her mother looked at her, amused.

"Is that so? His abs _are_ to die for, but I just can't see him with a beard, or swinging an axe around and grunting," Kali said through a smirk.

"That's not manly. That's just dumb," Blake shot back as she sipped from the glass of orange juice.

"You only think it's dumb because that's your father, dear. _I_ think it's hot."

"And this is the part where I start ignoring you, and eat this toast," Blake replied as she lifted the bread and took a bite.

"I took the liberty of buying you condoms, while Sun and I were at the market yesterday. He has no idea," Kali let on as she drummed her fingers against the side of her cheek. Blake took a deep breath mid-bite, and swallowed hard before setting the toast down, her cheeks burning.

"…I was _so_ ready for you to say something like that. You're going to have to try harder to catch me off guard. You were trying to make me choke, weren't you?" Blake accused.

"It would've been funny," Kali admitted with a small giggle.

"It's so _not_ funny that it's painful." Blake took a deep breath, and stared her mother down. Kali looked unfazed, and Blake fought back the urge to leap the table and try to strangle her. She settled for putting her hands on the table and pressing lightly into the wood. "We're _not_ having sex, Mom."

"To be honest, I didn't think you were, but it's my job around here to stir the shit for my own amusement… and also to check in on you." Kali allowed her hand to fall from beneath her chin, and let it rest lightly atop her daughter's as her tone changed to one of sincerity. "So, seriously. Take them, and hide them somewhere in your room. Ghira doesn't know, and he doesn't _need_ to know. It's better to have them, just in case."

As much as Blake wanted to lash out, she took a calming breath before slipping her hand out from beneath her mother's to take another swig of orange juice. She set the glass down and tried to get her blush under control, with little success. "…okay. Just… don't push it too hard, alright? We're just friends. Close friends, but… _friends_."

"I understand, Blake. Part of being an adult is knowing when to back off, and you know I'm just teasing. Mostly." Kali brought the hand back to rest beneath her chin as she watched Blake eye up the sardines and then begin to pile them onto a slice of toast. "But seriously, honey- _are_ you interested in him, as more than a friend? He's an absolute prize, and I'm not just talking physically."

Blake kept her eyes on her fish-toast as she bit into it. "…Sun and I had a long talk, last night. I'd be lying if I said no." She took another bite, and used it to buy herself some time to think. "He's in love with me. I think… I'm in love with him, too, but it's… not that easy."

"It never is. Get over your feelings of hesitance and jump him, dear," Kali offered with a flick of her free hand. Blake paused, and her expression changed to a deep, melancholy frown. Kali sat up straight as she noticed immediately, and folded her arms atop the table while leaning in, her own ears wilting slightly. "Blake?"

"…you _cannot_ tell Dad," Blake stated in a nervous tone. She slowly brought her eyes up to her mother's, and Kali returned the glance. She nodded slowly, despite her confusion. "Adam hurt me, Mom. I don't mean… 'I have a few bruises' hurt. Some of the things he said and did toward the end of our relationship changed me. They left physical and emotional scars, and they're scars I'm terrified to show Sun, or anyone else. He has _some_ idea of how serious it is, but… he doesn't know just how deep it goes. The thought of being with someone else again scares me. Adam did things to me that I never thought someone could do to another they claimed to love."

Kali's intense expression of concern shifted to a deadly, venomous glare. "…I'll rip his fucking balls off," she spat with an alien harshness. Blake narrowed her eyes.

"No, you won't… because _I_ will."

"…fair. Unsatisfying, but fair," Kali replied. It was her turn to heave a great sigh. "You don't need to tell me anything more, but I'm here for you. You know that."

"I do," Blake nodded as she began to tear into her bacon. "But… _nothing_ has ever made me feel better, in all this time. Nothing but Sun. I want to talk to him and just… lay it all on him, but I don't want to scare him off, either. It's pretty much the ultimate baggage test."

"Then you need to take it slow. Unloading all at once could paralyze him… but at the same time, if you _need_ to unload, then unload. If he really does love you, he'll at least stay, even if it takes him time to process it all," Kali said.

"Well, at least you're not feeding me bullshit and saying it's all going to be okay," Blake sighed.

"That's not my job, as a mother. My job is to support your decisions, and offer advice. Ghira told me that you barely mentioned Sun at all, to him."

"Of course not. I _can't_ ," Blake said with exasperation. "He's so caught up on 'defending my honor' that anything I say is just going to sound like it's targeted at pissing him off."

"Maybe not, after today. Let me talk to him again, before your next encounter. A big part of a loving relationship is trust, and he trusts me. I know what buttons to push and angles to approach from to get him to lighten up," Kali said in a soft tone.

"Thanks, Mom. I'm actually going to head to the marketplace for a bit this afternoon, and then tomorrow… I'm taking Sun out. Just us. Maybe talk to Dad then…?" Blake pleaded.

"Perfect timing. Is it a date?"

Blake looked down at her finished plate, her shoulders tense. "…yes."

"I have a feeling that telling _Sun_ that would go a long way toward making him feel better, and able to support you. He looked awful when he came downstairs this morning."

Blake shivered, and ran the collar of Sun's shirt between her thumb and forefinger as her ears drooped. "…I know. I saw him, briefly, as he was getting ready to leave. You really think I should just… go for it? Even if I don't feel ready?"

"You know what they say about jumping in pools. A 'date' is harmless. Just wade in up to your ankles, for now. It's pretty clear that you like the water," Kali sang.

"…I do." Blake stood, and pushed away from the table. "I guess, calling it a date won't hurt. You're right. Maybe… things just haven't worked so far because I _don't_ fully trust anyone, anymore? Maybe it's _me_ that's holding us back, and not my situation."

"Maybe it is. The decision of whether or not to let him be 'yours' is entirely up to you. The one upside is that if things do fall through, you have Ghira and I right here." Kali stood with her daughter, and took the finished tray before Blake could grab it. "I'll take care of this."

"Thanks, Mom. And… you're right again. I do. I think I need a little more time."

"Then take it. Just try to have fun, while you're waiting. I'll see you later tonight, honey?" Kali transitioned one of her hands to the underside of the center of the tray, and began to fish around inside one of her pockets with the other.

"You will. Thanks for everything, Mom," Blake replied as Kali tossed a small, green box over the table. Blake caught it, and looked it over. It was exactly as she feared- a box of condoms. "…you are the _worst_."

"Oh, I know," Kali said with a wink as she disappeared through the kitchen door.

With a roll of her eyes, Blake headed for the stairs to hide the box in the guest room before heading out into town.

* * *

Sun's head throbbed as he walked back into the Belladonna manor in the afternoon. His time with Ghira had culminated in small talk over lunch, though he had to keep talking to steer the conversation anywhere but to himself. Every fiber of his being hated that he had decided to bare his soul to Ghira, and his nerves were too shot to meet any of Ghira's attempts at compassion with anything but avoidance. In the end, Ghira had offered to haul the logs back himself so that Sun could get some sleep. Sun vehemently refused, and did his part to pull the six fallen trees back to the manor with him. It was a move that he had already come to regret.

Everything about Sun's body ached from carrying the heavy logs over his shoulder. Though they had been somewhat trimmed by himself and Ghira, they were still _very_ heavy, even for two muscular males. Each trip was harder than the last, and by the final tree being dumped off behind the manor, Sun felt that he was ready to die. Fortunately for him, Ghira had lent him a key to enter through one of the back doors, and he took the opportunity to head inside immediately.

Sun trudged through unfamiliar halls, and made a note that he _really_ needed to learn the layout of the manor. After several minutes of trial and error, he found the dining room and the fateful staircase. He began to make his way upstairs, half hoping that he _wouldn't_ run into Blake or Kali. Fortunately for him, he didn't, and he pushed his way into the guest room with a noise of disgust. He spared a quick glance at the clock, and found it to be barely 2 o' clock in the afternoon. Sun let out a groan, and reached down to undo his belt.

Cargo shorts hit the floor as Sun continued to walk, paying no attention to the dirt-covered garment as it left him. He ended up in his boxers as he made his way to the bed and flopped down onto the mattress with a noise of contempt. Though his skin was caked with sweat, it was _far_ too early for bed, and he had left the door wide open, Sun passed out almost immediately into a hard, necessary sleep.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Well, here we go. The stage is set for Blake's big 'date', provided something doesn't go horribly wrong.

That would never happen, right? Find out on Valentine's Day.

 **-RD**


	14. Animal Magnetism

Sun slowly opened his eyes, accompanied by a large inhale through his nose. He groaned as he began to shift, his muscles rubbing against the silken sheets as he rolled to one side to take in his surroundings. The room was quite dim; no sunlight was visible through the paper walls, and the majority of his vision was taken up by a dark purple boot. Sun craned his neck to follow the footwear and traced it up Blake's thigh to find her sitting in the bed with her back pressed to the headboard, reading. He blinked several times, unsure that he was seeing correctly.

"…are you wearing my shirt?" Sun inquired through a haze of sleepiness.

Blake's honey-colored eyes moved from the pages down to meet Sun's, and he just barely saw the edge of a smirk from behind the book. "No. I'm wearing _my_ shirt," she replied with more than a little enjoyment.

Sun shrugged and sat up, folding his legs as he did so. His eyes widened as he realized that he was not only wearing nothing but a pair of red boxers, but he was putting on _quite_ a show for her beneath the fabric. He immediately moved his hands downward into his lap with a hard blush, and pulled some ruffled section of blanket over his legs. Blake's eyes were back on her book, but Sun had no way of knowing just how much she had or hadn't seen.

"Uh, how long have you been here?" he asked sheepishly as he maneuvered his way to the edge of the bed, careful to keep himself covered as best he could.

Blake's eyes flicked to the clock, before returning to her book. "…about three hours. It's nearly 10pm. I wasn't about to wake you."

Sun's face fell at the realization that he had likely dashed all hope of sleeping that night, and therefore, potentially put a wrench in Blake's plans for him. "…oh. I… sorry."

"Don't apologize," Blake stated plainly as she closed the book and set it down atop the sheets. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and rose, showing off her new look. Sun's eyes traced her curves, and he squirmed once again beneath the sheets. "You needed that rest. Do you feel better?"

"Yeah. Totally. I should… I should probably shower, and then… I don't know. Maybe go back to bed in a few hours, and try to get up in time for tomorrow?" he spoke, trailing off.

"Why do that, when we could just hit the town _tonight?_ I slept in, like you asked me to. I'm ready to go." Blake folded her arms and jutted one hip out, showing off her figure. Sun swallowed _hard_.

"I mean… yeah, sure, but… I haven't picked up new clothes, yet, you have my shirt, and… I should _really_ do laundry," he finished.

Blake smirked hard enough to show teeth, and Sun found himself getting a bit nervous. "Oh, don't worry about that, Sun. Go shower, and I think you'll find that some problems just solve themselves," she said with an air of mystery to her tone.

Sun hesitated and stood, before slowly giving the blankets back to the bed. He made sure to turn away from Blake before he did, and began making a hasty retreat toward the bathroom. "Uh, sure. Sorry about the whole… _skin_ thing? I kinda passed out like this," Sun stated, unsure. He looked over his shoulder and offered Blake a guilty grin, only to find her expression unreadable.

"Do you hear me complaining?"

"…I'll be right back." Sun slipped into the bathroom and closed the door, thankful for the barrier between himself and Blake. He had never felt so vulnerable as he had while she stared at him in nothing but boxers and a necklace, and her near-predatory glare filled him with mixed feelings of arousal and worry. With a nervous smile to himself, he slipped out of his underwear and headed over to the shower. On his way to the glass, something atop the back of the toilet caught his eye.

There, atop the porcelain tank, was a new set of clothing- his cargo shorts had been washed and folded, and atop them lay a black, short-sleeved dress shirt. At the highest layer of the pile was a pair of green and gold plaid boxers, with his neatly-collapsed weapon topping off the stack. Sun laughed to himself and shook his head, before stepping into the shower and beginning to cleanse himself of the caked-on layers of sweat from the morning's work.

* * *

Sun rolled his shoulders and moved his neck from side to side as he tested the new shirt. The material was a soft, fuzzy suede, and the front featured two pockets; one on each side of the upper chest. The entire thing was jet black, loose-fitting, and comfortable, and he quickly decided to make the garment his new normal. Best of all, Blake had given it to him, and he could tell by sniffing the collar that she had lightly scented it with her perfume. He guessed that the touch was intentional, though he had no way of proving it.

The boxers were a perfect fit, and his shorts finally felt _clean_ once again. All in all, Sun was far more comfortable than he had been since setting foot in Kuo Kuana, and he knew that he had Blake to thank for it. Despite the marked physical improvement, the regrets of sharing his past with Ghira surfaced again while he was in the shower, and he couldn't help but feel weak and vulnerable. Blake's flirtatious behavior only added to the uncomfortable sensation, and he found himself in need of a new perspective before leaving to rejoin her in the bedroom.

Sun closed his eyes, and ran through the events leading up to that moment once again. His usual coping strategy of focusing on Blake filled him with a new, intense warmth, and he decided against wasting any more time. He reached out a hand to open the door, and froze as his fingers met fabric instead of metal.

Sun looked downward to find his digits entwined within a discarded thong, and his eyes widened. With a great deal of surprise and a few dirty thoughts, he lifted the garment and inspected it. As he realized that the likelihood of Blake wearing something nearly identical at that moment was high, the blush that he had fought so hard to contain came back in full force. With no other options, Sun knew that there was only one thing he could do to turn the situation around- he had to embarrass her just as much, and take back control.

With gusto, Sun pushed his way through the bathroom door, thong looped around the forefinger of his right hand as he strutted out to meet Blake while twirling the garment. "Think you forgot something," he began as he continued to walk. Her back was turned, and her ears perked as he spoke. Sun decided to take the split second window and pull back the straps of the thong like a slingshot, before letting it fly for the back of Blake's head.

The airborne underwear scored a direct hit on where Blake's head _should_ have been, and instead sailed through her clone and into the paper wall. Blake herself appeared just before Sun with a triumphant look upon her face. "What if I didn't forget, and they were a gift?" Her smile only widened as Sun's face continued to burn at both her statement and the embarrassment of his missed shot. Suddenly, Sun's expression changed into a cocky smirk, and he leaned down slightly to whisper into one of her cat ears.

"…well, it was very thoughtful of you, but there's no way those would be enough to contain me."

It was Blake's turn to blush, and Sun strode past her with a victorious grin as she froze in place. He bent to pick up his gauntlets from beside the bed, and strapped them on.

"… _wow_ , you won that one. Just… wow." Blake laughed nervously to herself and shook her head. She approached Sun from behind and rested a hand on his shoulder, earning a look back at herself from the taller male. "This shirt looks nice on you, cutie."

Sun chuckled to himself, and turned to face her. "Cutie?"

"I'm allowed a callback," Blake stated matter-of-factly. "You _would_ leave it unbuttoned, wouldn't you."

"Maybe _that's_ a gift, too," Sun shot back. Blake rested a hand upon his chest, between the open halves of the shirt. Sun shivered at her touch, but remained still.

"Well, it just makes it look even better. Ready to go on a date?"

" _Date?_ " Sun's heart skipped several beats as he asked the question, and searched her eyes. "Blake, are you sure you're r-"

Sun's entire brain shut down as Blake leaned up and pressed her lips to his. She wrapped her unoccupied arm around his waist as she deepened the gesture for a few brief seconds, and then pulled back as quickly as though she had been burned. Sun felt as though he was unable to breathe as he looked down at her, and wondered which of them would have their cheeks literally burst into flame first. He had a distinct feeling that he was winning that race.

"…no, Sun, I'm _not_ sure. But… let's do it anyway. Let's throw caution to the wind, and just… go with it. Isn't that your thing?"

"Maybe it is, but are you comfortable doing this?" Sun reached up to scratch at his hair. His heart fluttered as the kiss replayed over and over in his mind, but he tried his best to hold back his excitement, for her sake.

Blake fixed him with a glare, as though she knew what he would say. "Are _you?_ "

"No, but I st-" Sun began, only to be cut off.

"But you still want it," Blake finished for him. Sun nodded slowly. "I've been thinking, Sun. The question isn't 'are we ready?' or 'are we comfortable?' anymore. That isn't how or why we 'work'. The question is just 'do we want this?' We've both been following instinct. Mine told me to run, and yours told you to put your own wants and needs aside and follow. When we're together… I feel different. Those instincts change. You make me want to stay," Blake finished. Her ears were drawn slightly downward and to the sides, and everything about her facial expression and posture said that she was feeling just as vulnerable as he was.

Sun took the time to mull over her words, and found that for the most part, they made sense to him. Regardless of their budding relationship, his focus would always be on her, before himself, and getting ever closer would only make that instinct more intense. He had a feeling that there was little she could do to change that fact, and he had no plans of giving her anything else to worry about beyond her already numerous burdens. Sun's nervous smile faltered for a split second as he realized that he was being somewhat dishonest by agreeing, but it returned in full force as he reconciled that he was doing it for _her_.

"Then, yeah. Let's do this," he said while offering a hand. Blake took it with a smile, and joined his side. "Where are we headed?"

"To see the sights. Explore the night life of Kuo Kuana. Maybe we'll walk the streets for a bit, and then head for the beach?" Blake replied while beginning to walk forward. Sun lagged slightly as he let her guide him by the hand.

"Sounds good to me," Sun said while giving her hand a quick squeeze. "Hey, quick question, before we head out- how did you figure out how to get these clothes? The sizes, I mean. Everything's great, and I definitely needed 'em. Thanks, Blake."

Blake didn't look back as she led him to the door of the bedroom. "I guessed on the shirt, and I checked the inner label on the waistband of your boxers while you were sleeping."

"You _what?_ "

Sun received no reply as Blake slipped from his grasp and headed into the hall, leaving Sun to shake his head and follow.

* * *

"So, how different is Kuo Kuana from when you left?" Sun and Blake walked side by side through the gravel roads of the village, taking in the sights and sounds of the nightlife. Strings of white lights criss-crossed overhead, spanning alleyways and ricocheting off corners of buildings. Plumes of smoke came from several chimneys and spiraled up into the night, blocking out the overwhelmingly populated field of stars momentarily. No matter how interesting the paint jobs and plants outside of many of the buildings were, Sun found himself constantly looking back over to steal glances at Blake as they walked.

"Honestly? Not as much as I would've figured. A lot of the stalls at the market are the same as they always were, and I even ran into a few vendors who remembered me. I mean, a _lot_ of people remember me, considering my family… but you know how it is. People I actually remember interacting with." Blake looked over at Sun and caught his eyes. She offered him an honest smile, and adjusted her grip on his hand as they made their way onto a path around the edge of the village.

"Yeah, it never really hit me how well-known you probably are, until tonight. Even with most people at home, we're, uh… we're getting a lot of looks, you know." Sun smiled sheepishly as they set out onto the path, with trees on their left and buildings on the right. An older couple sitting out on their balcony began whispering to each other as they passed, and Sun averted his eyes while keeping his tone low. "Like that."

"I've noticed. Does it upset you?" Blake asked.

"No! No, not at all. I just didn't know if it might make you uncomfortable. They're gonna start talking about it, and the town isn't that big. They'll talk about… _us_ ," Sun added as they continued to walk along the curved path, leaving the balcony behind them.

"Let them. You make me happy, Sun. It's not just that, I feel like I can finally think straight again. I've felt like I was wandering through fog for years. Sometimes hands reached out, but they always slipped away. You're the first one who kept their grip." Blake picked up the pace as a large, clay-and-straw building came into view. The structure was too large to be a house, and indecipherable voices resonated from inside, even in the late hour. "It's still here! Come on!"

Sun blinked in surprise as he was tugged forward, unused to Blake showing such enthusiasm. He sped up his gait and stayed close as they reached the side of the building, only to find a large staircase leading up toward the rooftop. "What is this place?"

"The Notched Blade," Blake replied. Sun merely looked at her in confusion as they began to climb the steps in tandem. "Inside, it's a tavern, usually taken up by huntsman who want to try to brave the beasts out in the wastes. They use the town as a sort of resting ground, and they tend to make a lot of noise and break things from time to time. Up here, though, on the roof, they run a little café for the less warlike members of Kuo Kuana. They won't be serving anything this late, but the roof is still open to the public. My parents and I used to come here every so often, for the view. It's… something else."

As they reached the top of the steps and ended up on the rail-lined roof of the establishment, Sun's eyes widened. The building was tall enough to offer a view of most of Kuo Kuana, and the nearby waterfont. The strings of lights and occasional glowing window gave the small town a feeling of life far larger than it otherwise let on, and he found himself walking past the set up tables and toward the railing to get a better view.

"Wow… this is… _definitely_ cool," he said as he tried to make note of landmarks, the Belladonna manor included.

"Cool, and… pretty romantic, now that I'm older." Blake looped her arm around Sun's with a small smile as she joined his side at the railing, and pressed the side of her head into his arm. "I think so, anyway."

Sun's attention was immediately drawn to Blake as he felt the sensation of her hair against his skin, and he slowly moved his arm to rest his hand against the small of her back. He chose to remain silent and take in the view for a few minutes, before finally breaking the silence.

"…you know I… _really_ suck at being romantic, right? I mean, I've never really tried, but… if you're thinking I'm gonna manage to sweep you off your feet like a hero in those books of yours, you're probably gonna be _pretty_ disappointed."

Blake rolled her eyes and lifted her head from his shoulder to look up at him. "Sun... I know that isn't your style, and I'm fine with that. Besides, I'd probably turn into a blushing mess if you tried to do that sort of thing, and I'd just get mad over being embarrassed. This is fine, whatever… 'this' is. Come on, let's grab a table, and just hang out for a bit."

With great regret, Sun slipped his hand from Blake's back and led the way to the closest table with a view over the balcony. He pulled a chair out for Blake, and she thanked him as she took her place. Sun took his own, across from Blake, and let out a sigh as he leaned back while trying to look casual. "I gotta say, your hometown is pretty cool, Blake. We'll have to do this again, when they're actually open up here."

"We will. For right now, the view is more than enough for me." Blake rested an elbow on the table and cupped her cheek, channeling her mother as she looked Sun over. It took him _far_ too long to catch on.

"Oh! _Me?_ Sounds like you've been reading a few too many of those novels." Sun flexed for her in his seat, and earned a small giggle for his efforts.

"Maybe I _was_ just talking about the town. You can't prove anything," Blake said through narrowed eyes and a wicked grin.

"I can read you like one of your books, Blake, and that was far from innocent." Sun folded his arms and leaned back into his chair, confident.

"Try me, monkey boy."

"Well, right now, you're thinking… three kids," Sun tried, with a smirk.

Blake raised a brow. "Two, at most, and that's not what I'm thinking about right now. There are a _lot_ of steps between here and there, Sun. Your crystal ball needs cleaning. I'll give you… two more guesses."

"Hm." Sun made a show of bringing his fingers up to his temples, and closing his eyes. "As I channel the spirits, I can see…"

A stray thought floated through Sun's mind, and his eyes snapped open as he spoke with a deadpan. "You're thinking about what you saw while checking the label on my boxers, aren't you?"

Blake's reaction was immediate. She leaned back into her chair and looked away from him, strategically diverting her gaze over the railing to let her hair cover her cheeks as she raised the volume of her voice. " _So_ , Sun, what about _your_ hometown? You grew up in Vacuo, right?"

Sun chuckled to himself, and decided to allow her to escape with grace, just this once. "I did, yeah. Little town called Oasis, pretty far inland. Not too far from Shade Academy. It's more run-down than this, but… it's home."

Blake finally looked back to Sun, her flesh still a bit pink. "Maybe, once everything gets sorted out, you can show me?"

Sun paused, and thought the proposition over. He considered telling her _everything_ \- more than what he'd admitted to Ghira, and he knew that she would understand and likely offer to help. Sun also knew that bringing up his past would damper the mood, and he wanted Blake to feel that her 'date' was a success.

"…sure, if you want. It's pretty lame, though. Just warning you ahead of time," Sun deflected.

"Well, we made a lame dance into something pretty entertaining. I never did tell you how much that helped, so… thank you, Sun." Blake slid her hand onto the surface of the table, and Sun uncrossed his arms to place one of his hands atop hers.

"Hey, no big deal. I knew you were stressed out, and I was just trying to help. Well, that, and the whole having a crush on you thing," Sun admitted.

"…can I ask why?"

Sun hiked a brow, confused. "Why what?"

"Why you had a crush on me, even then. Up to that point, I'd done nothing but given you the cold shoulder and dirty looks. Honestly, I felt like you and I didn't really get… 'close' until a few days ago, or at least, I didn't start returning affection until then. I'm asking because you're not the first friend who has fallen for me, and I honestly don't understand what any of you saw before I warmed up to you," Blake said. She turned her hand upon the table to rest palm-up, and locked her fingers with Sun's.

"…I might be about to upset you, but honestly, that's part of it. The whole 'mysterious, annoyed girl with no time for you' thing is a _huge_ turn-on for some guys." Sun watched Blake's facial expression slip to one of annoyance, and tried to disarm her with a smile. "I said that's _part_ of it!"

"There had better be at least two more parts, Sun."

"There are _tons_ of parts! That's just a really common thing, I swear." Blake put her other hand on the table and began to drum her fingers, ears flat. "For me, personally, the biggest thing was your passion. When I first followed you around, after the bit of fallout you had with Weiss, I could see how upset you were by it. I wanted to be there when you decided to finally vent, because it was plain to see you needed _someone_ who could understand what it's like to be a faunus in today's world. I… wasn't expecting you to be involved with the White Fang, but still, the point stands. You kinda blew me away with how deeply you cared, and how intensely you felt about justice and equality and stuff. That's where the attraction started. I figured you must feel that intensely about most things, but you just never showed it to most people. I wanted to be a part of that."

Blake stopped drumming, and let her nails rest on the surface of the table as her features softened. "I don't… _let_ myself get 'intense' around most people, because I find it scares them off."

"Well, I think it makes you even more beautiful," Sun offered.

"…there's a first. I usually get 'hot', or some variant. Maybe you aren't so bad at romance, after all," Blake said with a sweet smile. Her ears flicked as a gentle breeze picked up near their table.

Sun shrugged, and lifted his hand along with Blake's as he propped his elbow on the table. "No, I'm still pretty bad. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing. I'm just… following instinct, like you said."

"…what are we doing with our hands right now, exactly?" Blake asked as she found her limb drawn up into arm-wrestling position.

"Case in point." Sun shook his head as he let her hand go, and stood from his seat into an overhead stretch. "Should we hit the beach, before it gets too late?"

Blake followed his lead and stood. "Sure, though… I don't know about you, but I'd be fine just spending the night down there, talking. We could probably buy a towel from one of the late-night stalls at the market and sit on the sand, as long as it's not too cold," she added as she began to make her way to the stairs. Sun followed, and almost ran into Blake as she stopped short, her ears twitching. "…did you hear something, just now?"

Sun strained his ears, trying to pinpoint anything suspicious among the general noise from the tavern portion of the building below. "I… don't think so? Something like what?"

The pair of them jumped as a loud vibration rang out from Blake's hip, and she reached into her pocket to take out her scroll. Sun placed his hands upon her shoulders as he leaned to look over her at the screen, only to find that he had supposedly sent her a message. Blake scowled, and let out a noise of disgust.

"It's _Ilia_ ," she spat as she flicked her finger to open the message.

 _Can you hear me now, Blake?_

Sun turned immediately and drew his weapon from the back of his belt as he scanned the rooftop. Blake put her scroll away and drew her own from her side, while keeping her eyes on the staircase before them. Sun squinted as he thought he saw movement, and then blinked several times as he suddenly caught sight of an annoyed-looking chameleon faunus in a grimm mask holding a scroll while leaning against the railing.

"You two _really_ need to get a room."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Let the games begin. A few quick hits from recent reviews:

Woodcutting and Aura usage: From what I understand, taking down a tree is more a matter of technique than strength, which is why Sun struggled while groggy, irritable, and flustered over Ghira. As for combat experience/power levels/general combat ability, I'm aiming for something consistent and sensible. There _will_ be some fighting, because what's a romance story without a few stressful battles, emotional yelling, and angsty teens flailing weaponry at each other? After all, there's a certain matchup we were robbed of in canon that I get the feeling quite a few people would like to see…

Ilia's 'redemption' arc: I have no problem with how things went in canon… other than the fact that she and Sun were dropped like rocks in a single episode. There's way too much potential in both characters to let them just be sidelined for whatever reason. I have my suspicions as to why things went down the way they did, but I'll leave it at that. The real question here is _if_ Ilia will be redeemed at all, in this story. Stay tuned.

Sex and the rating: I'm going to choose not to comment on this just yet, beyond one thing- _if_ sex of any sort is going to show up in the future, it will occur when it makes sense for the two of them to be at that level of comfort with each other. Sun's got some hang-ups keeping him from being completely honest about his feelings, and Blake's involvement with Adam, and what exactly he did to her, still isn't clear yet. It's safe to say that any sort of physical intimacy will take some time to get to. The goal for the portrayal of their relationship is realism, and that means it's going to be imperfect, awkward, and full of new experiences for both of them. I do have a plan, but half the fun is not knowing.

Story length: As of right now, it still seems to be on track for around 30 chapters total.

Thank you again for all of the feedback, and I'll try to address any questions in the Author's Notes, from here on out. Next update on Sunday, 2/17.

 **-RD**


	15. Unwelcome Introspection

No one spoke for several moments as Sun and Blake stared Ilia down, and she returned their combined gaze. Sun was tense, Blake was _furious_ , and Ilia's eyes were narrowed into dangerous slits behind her mask as she kept the scroll in hand, seemingly at the ready for something. Blake finally dared to move, and took up position next to Sun with one hand on Gambol Shroud and the other around his waist. Ilia's lip twitched in response as Blake began to speak.

"Funny you should say that. We _did_ get a room, and you continued to spy on us anyway. For all I know, you've seen every little thing we've done together."

Ilia hissed her reply through grated teeth, her raised hand trembling slightly. "Keeping tabs on you is my _job_ , Blake. Do you think I want to see you shacking up with _him?_ "

" _He_ has a name, Ilia, and he was nothing but nice to you when you first met, from what I've heard. Leave Sun out of this," Blake retorted. Her ears flattened against her skull as she squeezed Sun's side, and he shifted uncomfortably at the unintentionally tight grip.

"Ilia," Sun began. "Listen, I know we're on opposite sides of the White Fang, and what you want for Kuo Kuana is probably very different from what's going on. But is it really worth antagonizing your best friend over? Blake is here, now, and the two of you can't-"

" _You stay out of this!_ " Ilia screamed as her free hand disappeared behind her waist before bringing out a long, thin weapon. She snapped it downward and let the black and yellow shaft crack into a whiplike state against the roof of the building with a harsh _thwack_. "You know _nothing_ about me! You barely know Blake!"

Sun kept a firm grip on his staff as he slipped his hand behind Blake's waist, partially to hold her back. Her muscles were tense against his touch, and he decided to commit to trying to find a peaceful solution. "Ilia, it's true that you've known Blake for a longer time, but the Blake you grew up with and had as an ally in the White Fang has grown, and changed. You should take that as a sign. If your best friend is questioning her path, maybe you should question yours."

"The only question," Ilia shot back as she wrung her hand around the hilt of her weapon, "is why she _abandoned_ me without a word. She never even told me that she was _thinking_ of leaving the White Fang, let alone gave me any warning before she did." Ilia turned her gaze toward Blake, and her voice became pitchy as she addressed her former friend. "I could have _helped_ you! I could have covered for you! We could have left together!"

"And you could have left on your own and found me, afterward!" Blake leaned forward into an attempted charge, and Sun steeled his grip around her waist. He successfully prevented Blake from moving, and she glared up at him with angry breaths. "Let me _go_ , Sun. She's not going to listen!"

Sun returned her look, as Ilia began to tap against the screen of the scroll. "No, Blake. We can fix this. I _know_ that this can be solved without a fight." Slowly, he let his hand slip from around Blake's waist as he took a step forward. Ilia's attention snapped to him as he approached, and she slammed the whip against the ground again as a warning. Sun jumped ever so slightly, and prayed that she didn't notice.

"Stay back! I might have some trouble hurting her, but I've got _no_ love for you."

"I don't care," Sun replied. He stopped his forward momentum, and rested his staff into the surface of the roof below. "Ilia, _please_. All I'm asking for is a chance to talk. The three of us, the two of you… whatever you need. Think about how you feel, right now. Blake lost _two_ friends, by making a choice to protect others. This isn't easy on her, either."

"You don't speak for her," Ilia said as she snapped the scroll closed and readied her weapon.

"He's not speaking for me. He's speaking for _you_ ," Blake replied as she stepped forward to join Sun's side once again. "If it was up to me, there would be no second chance. Sun's giving you options. I wouldn't have been so kind, if you'd caught me alone. Take off your mask, or we'll take it off _for_ you. You can't take us both, Ilia," Blake threatened as she converted her sword into its gun state.

"No, I can't," Ilia admitted while shaking her head. "But I won't have to."

The sound of several pairs of footsteps echoed throughout the rooftop as three members of the White Fang emerged at the top of the steps. Sun kept his eyes trained on Ilia as Blake whirled, and pressed her back to his. She let out a feral growl as she flipped Gambol Shroud around in her grip, and began to whirl the weapon by its ribbon.

"Sun… Ilia and I have sparred together for years. She knows me, and I know her. It'll end in a stalemate, and I can handle these three and whoever else comes up those steps. White Fang grunts are _nothing_ to the woman who helped train them."

"So, Ilia's all mine, then," Sun mused as he tensed up.

"Knock that bitch out," Blake spat as she charged for the trio. Sun pushed off into a sprint for Ilia, only to watch her fade into nothingness.

" _Hey!_ Get back here!" he yelled as he skidded to a stop where Ilia had once stood. Sun looked over the railing to find her falling down the side of the building with her back to the ground, before she extended her weapon and wrapped it around a flagpole jutting from the side of the structure. Ilia floated gently to the ground and broke into a run as the sound of clashing weaponry rang out behind Sun. He spared a glance over his shoulder at Blake, and his stomach twisted into knots at the sight of her in the middle of a four on one brawl, with another grunt ascending the steps.

For the briefest moment, their eyes met, and Blake yelled as she whipped her weapon around into the side of an opponent's head.

" _Go!_ "

Sun let out an irritated grunt as he looked away, his heart pounding and urging him to stay and fight alongside her. Despite his anger at himself for leaving Blake, he vaulted the railing and began to dive toward the ground, headfirst. Ilia had ran straight into an alley some distance ahead, and Sun did his best to keep his eyes on her as he tossed his staff upward while falling.

With great dexterity, he wrapped his tail around the weapon and held it tight as he clasped his hands together. Sun drew in a deep, focused breath as he summoned forth a glittering projection of himself upon the ground. The golden doppelganger turned toward its falling master as Sun let his feet fall forward beneath himself and grabbed Sun's foot in a tight grip. With great effort, the clone flung Sun forward at high speed as it dissipated into golden sparkles, and he transitioned his staff back into his hand as he tucked into a roll while impacting the ground.

Sun began to sprint as hard as he could, chest heaving as he cracked his staff into a pair of nunchaku. Ilia disappeared around the corner of a building, and Sun hurried to catch up.

" _Ilia!_ I just want to talk! You and me! No Blake, no weapons! We can figure this out together!" he shouted as he kept up his speed. The moment Sun rounded the corner, he felt a heavy impact against his face and found himself tumbling backward into the dirt. He let out a cry of surprise as his aura absorbed the majority of the pain, and he scrambled backward to put some distance between himself and his assailant.

Ilia seemed to appear from the wall as her skin color changed back to its natural dark shade. She kept her palm thrust forward from the ambush strike for a moment, before shaking out her hand as she approached. "Your skull is just as thick as it looks. We have _nothing_ to talk about. Drop this little chase, or you'll find out what a White Fang huntress can do."

Sun leaned back into the dirt and tucked his legs inward, before springing them forward to vault himself up. He whirled his nunchaku and tucked them beneath his armpits as he sank into a ready stance, eyes narrowed. "You have your orders. I have mine. You _could_ have used your weapon, and you just went for a palm strike instead. That tells me that you're hesitating. Come _on!_ Either commit to a fight, or hear me out! She _misses_ you!"

"Well, I won't miss you!" Ilia yelled as she threw her weapon arm outward. The extending prod shot forward toward Sun, and he deflected the strike with a whip of one of his nunchaku. As the barrel came back around from its loop, he pulled the trigger on the device and sent a hail of spread shot straight for Ilia. The girl gasped and turned to the side as several pellets careened into her aura and a crackle of deep orange flared around her torso where the shrapnel would have penetrated flesh.

Sun held back his semblance as he continued to spin his armaments, firing off round after round while Ilia dodged and deflected the barrels of his nunchaku with her sword. They clashed several times while Sun continued to advance at an angle, and Ilia found quickly found herself backed into a wall. With quick thinking, Sun snapped his weapons together into a staff in the middle of a looping spin and turned, throwing his entire body into a sweep. The whirling weapon smashed into Ilia's ankles and sent her tripping backward into the wall with a cry of pain.

"You _ass!_ " she shrieked as the back of her head smashed into the hardened clay of the building, triggering her aura to flare once again. Sun didn't let up, and yelled as he moved to tackle her into the structure. Ilia grit her teeth and brought her weapon in close to her chest as he pressed into her, before triggering the shock mechanism.

Electricity pulsed through Sun's body as the wire-like weapon pushed up along the center of his chest, and he felt all of the muscles in his core tighten painfully as he was shocked. Never having been electrocuted before, he cried out in both surprise and pain as he found himself quite literally falling onto Ilia and maintaining his contact with the pulsating weapon. His aura swirled around his body completely as the pair fell over into the dirt, and he felt himself rapidly being drained as smoke began to rise from the pole.

Ilia heaved with all of her might to push Sun off of herself with her palm and the handle of her weapon, and immediately regretted the decision as he threw a punch for her face. The right horn of the grimm mask splintered against Sun's fist at the contact, and she found her face whipped to the side as the mask flew off of her and tumbled into the wall of the building. Sun pressed his fist into the dirt and pushed himself up, only to backpedal away from Ilia and lean against his staff as he planted it into the dirt. His chest muscles contracted painfully against his will as he stood, staring her down. The pair of them were breathing heavily, and neither dared to move.

"Ilia… I'm not going to hurt you any more than I have to. There's another way! Don't you trust Blake?"

" _Trust_ her!?" Ilia spat as she stood shakily. "She has no idea what she's doing! When Adam finds her, he's going to make her life even more of a living hell than he did last time! If anything, she should come back to _me!_ The White Fang gets results, and it's getting more as Adam climbs the ranks!"

"He's a murderer!" Sun shouted. "Blood for blood is only going to result in all-out war! Humans outnumber faunus, and it's a war you're going to lose!"

"We didn't lose at Beacon!" Ilia said as she threw her free hand out to the side for emphasis. "Humans are _weak!_ They're sitting pretty, and blood is the _only_ thing that will make them respect us! Soon, Vale will belong to the faunus, and it's all because of us!" Ilia's lip quivered as she rose the volume of her voice, and she dropped her gaze into the dirt. Sun took note, and began to take calming breaths through his nose as he softened his tone.

"…you don't believe that. I _know_ you don't. Beacon and the surrounding city weren't liberated for, or by the faunus. You're being manipulated."

"We were given a deal! The faunus are going to have their own place, now, at the top, where we c-"

"And what do you have to say about the faunus who died defending Beacon?" Sun interrupted. He took an angry step forward, and pointed at Ilia with an accusatory glare. "How many homes were destroyed? How many families were chased out, because of grimm? Even if you really _do_ want to exterminate humans, 'our' people were displaced and sacrificed for a cause they never agreed to! You're no better than the slave-driving corporations keeping some of our brothers and sisters in chains! You're _worse!_ At least the humans don't kill us! Not in the numbers you did in a single day! Tell me what you'll say to the mothers and fathers who lost their faunus children to grimm in that attack, when you stroll in to proclaim _victory_. What will you tell the orphaned kid who lost their parents because of _you?_ Are you ready to face either of those situations? I guarantee it won't be just _one_ kid, or one set of parents. You have blood on your hands, and you can't even see it!"

Ilia froze, her gaze locked on Sun's angry face as he ranted. She felt moisture beginning to pool at the edges of her eyes, and she snapped them shut as she looked away. With all of her remaining spirit, she tried to yell back at him, only to find her voice coming out weak and strained as she looked back to Sun, full of guilt and painful memories.

"I… I-I…"

Sun's expression remained firm as he slowly transitioned his hand from a damning point into an outstretched, open palm. "…you know this is wrong. Ilia, _please_. I'm not even mad at you. I get it. At the end of the day, I want Blake to be happy, and living without you is a hole that I can't fill completely. She _needs_ you."

Ilia's breathing picked up at the mention of Blake, and her shoulders tensed as she stared down Sun's offered hand. Her eyes flicked up to meet his own as she furrowed her brow, and snarled. "And I needed her! Stay _away!_ "

The whip lashed out too quickly for Sun to move his hand out of the way, and he drew in a sharp, pained breath as the flexing metal slashed across his glove. He pulled the hand back into his chest and looked it over, only to find the material split open and a painful, raised scar already formed upon his flesh. Ilia took the opportunity to turn and run once again, and Sun twirled his staff and held it close against his back and shoulder as he ran to follow.

"Shit! _Shit!_ " he cursed, trying to block out the pain in his hand as he flapped it out to the side. Though he had no idea how Ilia's weapon worked, he knew that it had _somehow_ pierced through his aura and left him with a painful parting gift. He turned into another alley as quickly as he could, only to see nothing before him. A small plume of dust rose from a specific place in the dirt, and Sun pretended not to notice as he walked into the narrow path.

"Ilia? Ilia! Please!" he cried out, trying to sound convincing as he advanced. He slung his staff up and across his shoulders, behind his neck, with a finger on one of the triggers. "I'm not giving up that easily."

Sun feigned a turn to look back at the path he'd come from, and smirked as he heard a hard footstep behind himself. Without hesitation, he twisted his body sideways to aim the staff at where he had seen the plume of dust, and fired.

The sound of shattering glass echoed through the alleyway as Ilia was propelled through a nearby window by the full force of spread shot, and Sun turned to face the shattered portal. "Gotcha!" he stated victoriously as he leaped over the windowsill, into a darkened kitchen. Ilia was on her side in the center of the room, leaning up as she kept a hand wrapped around her waist while sitting in the broken glass. Blood ran down her right arm, stemming from a glass shard embedded into her shoulder. She tried to inch away as Sun approached, cracking his staff back into two sections as he walked.

"Fuck… _you_ …" Ilia stated through heavy breaths as she continued to scoot backward, into the darkness. Sun's face twisted into a grimace as he noticed the trails of tears running down her cheeks, though whether they were from pain or his words, he couldn't tell.

"Your aura's gotta be drained, right? Come on, just stop this, and come back to the manor with me. Blake and I will patch you up," Sun offered as he stopped mere feet from her. The pair of them squinted as the lights in the kitchen were suddenly turned on, and Sun moved an arm up to cover his eyes as a deep, masculine voice called out.

"Who the hell are you!?"

Sun lowered his arm to peer over it, and found himself staring down the barrel of a large firearm with a broadsword-like bayonet attached to the end. Holding the gun was a faunus just smaller than Ghira in both stature and musculature, with what appeared to be three rows of gills lining either side of his neck.

"Whoa, _whoa!_ Sir, hold on, I can explain!" Sun scrambled as he held out his arms with open palms, letting his nunchaku fall and clatter to the tile floor. "I… my friend and I, here, were messing around in the alleyway, and she uh, she fell through your window! It was my fault, I pushed her a little too hard! I'll gladly pay for it, and even help you put in the new one, but she needs to get to a hospital? Or, uh, a medical tent? I don't know what you guys have here…?" Sun finished lamely, as he brought a hand up to scratch his head.

All the while, Ilia had managed to drag her way behind the large male, and struggled into a standing position. She glared at him with tear-filled eyes as the other faunus kept his gun trained on Sun, and spoke to her.

"…he's not your friend, is he, Ilia?"

Sun's eyes widened as Ilia replied. "No, he isn't. He's causing trouble for the Fang, and he got the best of me. He's with the Belladonnas." The statement earned a growl from the male, and Ilia turned her gaze toward Sun. "Did you _really_ think I'd lead you into a part of town I didn't know? White Fang live on this side of Kuo Kuana, and that means you're screwed. You can't take us both, Sun," Ilia smirked.

"…like hell I can't."

The male fired, only to wince as he found the projectile flying up into the ceiling and rocking the lighting fixture while a shimmering, bright yellow clone gripped the barrel and held it upward. Sun grinned and kept his hands together as another double rushed forward from the center of his body and delivered a powerful punch to the adult's gut, causing him to double over while the first wrenched the gun from his grip. Ilia cried out in surprise and disappeared into the darkened hallway, running full tilt as her footsteps echoed throughout the house.

"You aren't getting to her!" the male wheezed as he stood and tried to charge at Sun, only to receive two punches to the face, one from each double. The clones dissipated as Sun panted with effort, and stooped to retrieve his weapons from the floor. He rolled forward and flipped his nunchaku upward in a double strike aimed for the male's chin, and the stranger stumbled backward into a nearby counter as he took the hits.

"Yeah, I figured that out already, genius!" Sun retorted with annoyance as he slapped one of his weapons around his side, before drawing it back across his body and using the momentum to deliver a hard blow to his opponent's face. A blue crackle surrounded the adult's entire body, and Sun reconnected his staff to deliver a jumping, two-handed overhead that resulted in an immediate knockout as the male crumpled to the floor.

For a moment, Sun considered giving chase, before instinctively reaching into his back pocket with his tail to pull out his scroll, only to find nothing. He knew that is aura was dangerously close to breaking from sheer effort, but without explicit knowledge and Ilia either hiding in the house or long gone, he resigned to give up the chase with a noise of frustration. He took a moment to catch his breath as he panted, considering his next move. After some time, Sun whirled and collapsed his weapon as he began to head back for the window, only to pause as something on the floor caught his eye.

Among the glass shards was his scroll, collapsed and waiting. He smiled as he stooped to pick it up, assuming that it had fallen from Ilia's pocket as she broke through the window. Immediately, he snapped the device open and navigated to the stored contact list to call Blake.

"Come on… come _on_ …" he begged as he slowly and carefully climbed back out of the window.

The device rang several times before a connection was made, and Blake's screaming voice caused him to nearly drop the scroll.

" _What did you do to him!? Ilia, I swear to the gods, if you hurt him, I'll te-"_

"Whoa, _whoa!_ " Sun interrupted. "Blake, it's _me!_ I'm fine! Ilia managed to get away, but we'll figure that out later! Are you alright?"

A long pause broke up the conversation, before Blake replied. "Sun… yeah, I'm fine. I managed to take several of them down and escaped to the docks. But… why are you calling me from Ilia's scroll? Didn't she have yours on her?"

"I… _what?_ " Sun inquired, as he blinked in surprise. He minimized the call display and went back to the contact list to verify the claim.

Just above Blake Belladonna was one other stored name.

 _Adam Taurus_.

"…Blake, stay where you are, and don't make a ton of noise, in case they followed and they're looking for you. I'll come to you, and let's see what we can get out of this thing."

Sun smirked as he snapped the device closed, and began to walk.

"How the tables have turned," he mused to himself.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I mentioned a long time ago that I would throw up a warning before some Volume 6 spoilers. Even though the vast majority have already seen it, **this is that warning**. The next chapter **will** contain spoilers for Volume 6, Episode 11 specifically. I'm sure you all know what that means in terms of who is going to get a scene in the next chapter. Someone potentially unexpected will also be making an early appearance, to help flesh out some future events.

Speaking of Volumes, I don't think I'm going to say when in RWBY canon this story will end. The only vague hint I'll drop is 'probably not where you think it will'. Funny how this was brought up by Constipated Genius' review, where they also begged me not to maim Sun, right before Sun was maimed. I swear this chapter was already written before that review went up. At least it's a small maiming? It'll keep his hand from doing terrible, filthy things for a while.

I meant stealing, people.

Next update on Wednesday, 2/20. If it helps, I'll usually be posting around 4:00AM CST if it's a weekday, and whenever the hell I drag myself out of bed if it's a weekend, but usually no later than 8 or so.

 **-RD**


	16. Soft and Wet

"So very like a _human_ to delay, and delay, and delay, until the time for action has long since passed. I am telling you, we strike _now_ , and our victory is all but guaranteed. My specialists are ready, Kuo Kuana is in a stranglehold from the shadows, and the _little girls_ responsible for the complications at Beacon are scattered and clueless. What don't you understand!?"

Adam's knuckles were ghost white beneath his gloves as he pressed his balled fists into the desk before himself. He was hunched over, furious and breathing heavily as he stared down the giant of a man who stood before him. Hazel Rainart considered the raging bull, arms across his chest as he kept his expression neutral. The man seemed less than impressed with the outburst, and remained silent as he let Adam continue his rant.

"I have sent letter after letter to my supposed _contact,_ Cinder, and it seems that her employer only sent you to make an attempt to shut me up. The White Fang are not toys, nor an implement for intimidation. We do _not_ get told to simply remain on standby while being told nothing about our mission. Give me the details that Cinder won't. At _least_ give me a time frame!"

"Soon," was the only reply from the mountain of muscle within the candlelit tent.

"Soon," Adam repeated. "Soon. I'm familiar with 'soon'." He drew in a breath as he pushed himself off the table and stood straight. He cracked his neck and turned away from Hazel, before bringing his right hand to the hilt of his sword.

"Wouldn't do that, if I were you," Hazel warned.

"Do _what?_ " Adam spat, while looking over his shoulder. He bared his teeth in warning, and began to draw the blade with a _click_.

"I've been told you're one for irrational rage. That's a waste, kid. Rage isn't meant to be a blade. Rage is a forge. Rage is where you temper your steel. Once you learn to focus it, and master it, there's nothing that a blade forged in focused anger can't cut. If you let rage _be_ the sword, there's a good chance you'll just end up cutting yourself. Take it from me- there's only so much you can get done with a wildfire. Sure, you'll burn down more, but you may not burn down what you're aiming for. Gotta focus the stream."

Adam considered the words, and scraped the sword back into its sheath. "So that's why you were sent, is it? To pacify me, while repeating the same irritating orders to sit around and wait to be told what to do. The time to strike Haven is _now_. What reason could your people possibly have to wait?"

"As far as I understand it, we still need someone to get the job done. That 'someone' is proving a little harder to find than we anticipated." Hazel uncrossed his arms and let them hang at his sides. "If you want in on the Atlas job, you'll play along. Otherwise, she's gonna cut you loose after Haven falls."

Adam turned once again to face Hazel and bared his teeth, his tone icy as he spoke. "Atlas will fall by _my_ hand. That entire city will become a meteor. A celestial projectile of the White Fang's bitter, _focused_ rage. She _swore_ that Atlas would fall to us. Don't even _think_ about taking that away from me."

" _If_ you play your part from the sidelines at Haven. That's what she promised," Hazel reminded him. "You blow the academy sky high for us, and we help bring the floating city down for you. That was the deal. That means you follow _our_ lead, right now, and get your payoff later."

Adam drew one last, deep breath as he rested a palm upon the desk. "… _fine_. Run along home, and report that the White Fang is still at the ready, and _eagerly_ awaiting our orders," he snarled.

"Actually," Hazel said as he approached, and bent down to place his own hands on the desk while leaning over to put his gaze at Adam's face level, "I was told to remain here. Keep an eye on _you_ , and help you subdue Sienna just before we make our move."

An uncomfortable silence filled the tent as Adam searched Hazel's eyes from the comfort of his grimm mask, trying to determine intent. "…and just what happens to our dear leader after her… _imprisonment?_ "

"Beats me," Hazel replied as he pushed off the desk and folded his arms once again. "I don't ask questions that don't concern me. Right now, there's only one at the forefront of my mind."

"Do tell," Adam replied coolly. Finally, he had managed to quell his anger, and mimicked the larger male's posturing.

"Why do you want to see Atlas fall so badly, anyway?"

Adam paused, and uncrossed his arms. Slowly, he brought his right hand up to his visor, and carefully removed the obscuring accessory. Beneath the mask, across his left eye, was the 'SDC' brand he had acquired during his time in the mines. Hazel narrowed his eyes as he looked it over, but said nothing more.

"…the Schnee family. They don't even know I exist, and yet they single-handedly ruined my life. They made me _theirs_. Their property. Their _tool_. I was seen as just another biological machine tasked with keeping their company running. The rich, pompous humans at the helm have no idea that they twisted their prized possession until it began to strain and warp… but not break. I will _never_ break. I may be their property, but there is no more fitting end to their regime than one of their own tools breaking the entire system down from within. When the sky falls, _then_ they will know my name. Then, the Schnee family will be ground into the dirt and rock that I was forced to trawl for their benefit. And sweetest of all, the Belladonna girl… the heiress is one of her closest friends. I will rip her from Blake's life as she ripped my family from mine. It's a simple matter of revenge, Hazel. I suppose you think yourself above it?" Adam asked, his head inclined to one side as his eyes narrowed with a wicked sneer.

"No, I'm not," Hazel said. "Revenge is a powerful motivator. _Revenge_ should be your steel. I'm after Ozpin, myself. That's the whole reason I bother with this little band of misfits and vagabonds. The woman at the top promised I'll get my licks in, when we find him. She's my best shot at making revenge into reality."

"Then I suppose we have something in common. _One_ thing, anyway." Adam used a gloved hand to dust off his shoulder, as the other returned the grimm mask to rest across the upper part of his face. "Find yourself a tent, within these grounds."

Hazel merely nodded and turned to leave, as another figure slipped into the structure. Corsac Albain clasped his hands and offered a formal bow, first to Adam, and then to Hazel, before he walked around the human and made his way to stand before the desk. Hazel turned his body with the motion to watch.

"Master Taurus. There may be cause for concern, in Kuo Kuana," he stated plainly. Adam merely stared as he took in a deep breath, his jacket flexing against his expanding chest. "Sister Amitola showed some… worrying signs, on the boat ride back. Fennec departed to follow and observe her, while I came here to inform you. We have reason to believe that her heart may no longer be committed to our cause."

"What evidence do you have of this? Leave nothing you know out of it," Adam commanded as he began to pace behind the desk.

"It would seem that she has _two_ scrolls. One them appears to belong to Sun Wukong, the monkey faunus that arrived at the island with the Belladonna girl. She spent much of the trip back to the city filtering through his device."

"And what leads you to believe that she was doing anything more than collecting information? This sounds like a waste of time and energy, so far," Adam said with disgust in his voice.

"There was no relevant information to be found. Almost all of her time on that scroll was spent looking through his contacts, and at photos of _him_. It is no secret that she harbors feelings for the Belladonna girl, even now, and I caught sight of Ilia trying to contact her as the boat docked."

Adam's pacing stopped abruptly as he snapped his gaze to Corsac. " _Did she?_ "

"…no. Not while in my presence, at least. She opened and closed the conversation multiple times, but it would appear that she does intend to address Blake directly. For what reason, who can say… but is that not somewhat concerning?"

Hazel looked between the two faunus, but remained silent as Adam walked around the desk and approached him.

"…remain here. _Both_ of you. Corsac, you are in charge of this encampment until I return. Hazel, contact me immediately if our orders change," he commanded, before heading for the tent flaps.

"…where are you going?" Hazel inquired.

"…the temporary encampment off the coast of Kuo Kuana. If Ilia is not fulfilling her role according to my _exact_ specifications… then I will deal with her personally, and then I will make sure the Belladonnas do not become a problem _myself_."

Adam pushed his way through the tent flaps and walked out into the night air. Corsac flinched as he heard a muted _click_ from the other side of the material, and silence fell over the inside of the tent once more.

* * *

Sun began to pant as he ran across the sand of the beach, his shoes making a soft crunching noise as he pumped his legs as fast as he could. He kept his arms up and fingers bladed as he ran, moving as quickly as he could to reach the small dock at the base of the island's lighthouse. The wooden structure appeared nearly black beneath the muted starlight, and Sun found that even with his faunus vision, trying to make out the details of the harbor from a distance was quite difficult at night.

"Come on… come _on_ , just a little more," he said to himself as he made his way through the dunes. The gentle sound of waves filled his ears as the tides came in and out, nearly touching his sneakers while he swerved around a large rock in the otherwise untouched sand. Sun strained his ears as he got closer and closer to the docks, praying that there would be no telltale scrapings of blades or clashes of steel. As he ran up to the rocky base of the tower, he slowed to a stop and doubled over to catch his breath, hands on his shins.

"Wish she said _which_ dock… but this is the closest to that tavern. Come on, Blake, please be here…" he begged to no one in particular as he began to walk. His right hand pulsed with pain from the electrical burn as sweat began to well up within the torn glove surrounding it, and Sun paused his walking to slide the gauntlet off entirely. He tossed the torn fabric into the sand and replaced the red armored part around his hand, before flexing his fingers. The band holding the armor in place triggered a spasm through his palm, and he winced at the sensation.

"Damn it…" he cursed as he began to walk again. "Blake's gonna freak out…"

"Over what?" came the immediate reply from a nearby wooden support. Blake stepped out from behind the pillar, arms folded across her chest. She was just as sweaty as Sun, and his- _her_ shirt and pants were soaked with what appeared to be sea water, as was the scraggly black hair matted down to her skin and shoulders. The raven-colored mop covered most of her chest beneath her arms, and she did _not_ look pleased.

Despite the obviously soaked state of her entire body, Sun didn't hesitate as he darted forward and scooped her into a bone-crushing hug. Blake let out a surprised gasp as she found her arms pinned to her sides while he lifted her slightly from the sand before putting her back down, and her attempted cry of protest was silenced by an aggressive kiss.

Blake's eyes widened and her ears flicked uncontrollably as she tasted Sun's lips pressed into her own and felt the sensation of his bare fingertips cupping her cheek. As her own arms were freed, she slowly brought them up to snake into the open folds of his shirt and around the slick flesh of his back to pull him closer. Finally, she closed her eyes and let herself sink into the passionate embrace as Sun gently walked her back into the wooden pole. She tensed slightly as she felt her shoulder blades press up against the support beam, and brought a hand back around to his front and up to his chin to hold him in place as she slowly broke the kiss with a furious blush and guilty grin.

" _Sun_ … while I'm not exactly complaining, what was _that?_ "

Sun kept his eyes closed for a moment, before slowly opening them to meet Blake's. His blush outshone hers in intensity by a longshot, and he chuckled slightly as he shivered from the sensation of sea water all over his chest.

"Uh… probably terrible, I'm guessing?"

"…I wouldn't say _terrible,_ no, but you know what I meant. I'm fine, Sun, really."

"I know," he replied quickly. "I knew you would be, but I just… I don't know. I got nervous, when you just waded into a crowd of three like a crazy woman. When I turned and saw four, with a fifth coming, I sorta… panicked. I almost stayed to help," he admitted as his tail drooped to touch the sand.

"Why didn't you, then? I'm glad that you followed Ilia and actually _listened_ , but what allowed you to tear yourself away?" Blake asked. She shivered, too, for different reasons.

"…because I trust you," he said simply. Blake blinked, and looked away into the sand as she tried and failed to fight back a genuine smile.

"…so… why do you think I'm going to 'freak out', exactly?" she asked as she looked back at Sun.

"Well… I got a little roughed up. Also, touching you while you're covered in salt water was a bad plan. This stings _more_ , now," he stated as he lifted his right hand to show her his palm. Her eyes widened, and she raised her arms to seize his hand and pull it closer for inspection.

" _Sun!_ What happened? How…" As Blake looked over the wound, realization dawned upon her. "An electrical burn, from Ilia's weapon. How, and _why_ did it get across your palm?"

Sun hesitated for a moment before heaving a sigh. "…because I offered her my hand."

Blake looked up into Sun's eyes, her expression a mixture of fury and disappointment. " _Why?_ "

"You know why, Blake. I know it's not easy. I know she may not even deserve it, after what the White Fang has done… but she's your friend. She means a lot to you, more than you're letting on. I can see it in your face, every time you talk about her. I'd _give_ my hand, if it brought you two back together."

"Don't _say_ that!" Blake admonished as she began to trace her fingers along the edges of his palm. "You don't have to be my hero in every sense and try to right every single wrong. It's just not going to happen, Sun."

"…I'm your hero? _GAH!_ " Sun cried as he received a swift slap upside the back of the head. "…alright, I deserved that one."

"You did," Blake agreed as she transitioned her grip from his hand to his shoulders, and pulled herself in for another kiss. Sun trailed his hands down to rest on her hips as they held the contact, slowly rocking back and forth for a few moments before she pulled away. "…and that one, too."

"I don't know about that, but… thanks anyway. They're certainly lovely gifts," Sun grinned. Blake rolled her eyes and huffed as she crossed her arms once again, one hip out to the side. "Was that one better…?"

"Sun, you're _fine_. I wouldn't have gone back for seconds, otherwise. Why do you keep asking that?"

The tide crept up the shore once again, and threatened to engulf their feet before retracting back into the sea. Sun watched it go, his head turned to the side.

"…I'm your first, aren't I? Is that it?"

Slowly, he nodded as he dared to give her a sideways glance. Blake's features softened as she took his unblemished hand in her own.

"Sun… that's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm sure girls practically swoon over you, all the time. You must have your reasons."

"Yeah. None of them seemed like anything more than a distraction, or eye candy, until I met you. I've been holding out for something 'real', you know? The other guys think it's lame," he finished.

"The 'other guys' aren't standing here with me, are they?" Blake asked as she massaged his hand.

"No. No, they're not," he admitted with a smile.

"Take comfort in that. Now, come on, let's get back home so I can take care of your hand, and we can get out of these clothes." Blake waved a hand to beckon him as she began to walk off, back toward the town proper.

Sun followed, and tried to keep his eyes off her rear. By fighting against his instinct, he willed himself to bring his gaze upward, and instead caught sight of her bra straps through the back of the soaked, white shirt. His flesh tingled as he looked off to the side, entirely away from her before he jogged to catch up and entwine his fingers with hers.

"…why are you still blushing?"

"…no reason," Sun replied with a nervous smile.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I'm a little bit stunned by just how quickly this story has blown up over the last few chapters, and the tons of support that many of you have been leaving in reviews. It's certainly great motivation to keep going at this pace, and I have now, finally, hammered out all of the details of how the rest of the story will go down. I've had an endpoint in mind since the beginning, but the events from a few chapters after this to that ending have been a bit muddy thus far. Now, it's all clear, and I also have a big plan for the story after this one. A _really_ big plan. It's certainly going to be… divisive. More on that in the final chapter of this, whenever that may be.

I'm _very_ excited to share the next chapter with all of you on the 23rd. As they like to say in the FGC...

 _Get hype._

 **-RD**


	17. Weighted Scales

Ilia began to let out shuddering gasps, desperately gulping air as she sprinted through the dirt and flora of the forest. Her boots crunched and swished through the grass and ferns as she sprinted, keeping her fists balled in anger as she knocked errant branches out of her path. She could barely see the outlines of the trees whipping past her through her tear-filled eyes, and she very nearly ran straight into a tree as she wiped her cheeks on the back of her fist. Ilia let out a desperate, pained noise as she dodged out of the way in time, only to feel a heavy impact against her right foot.

The ground rose up too quickly for Ilia to brace herself as she crashed face first into the dirt. The faunus girl barely had time to put a hand out to lessen the impact, and found a sharp pain shooting up her wrist as her arm buckled beneath her and failed to save her from the hard fall. A pained whimper escaped her lips as she lay in the grass, seeing nothing but swirling water and patches of green and brown directly in front of her eyes. The pain and embarrassment only caused her to cry harder, and Ilia found herself heaving ugly, needy sobs as she pulled herself into a sitting position.

Ilia wiped her hands upon her vest before bringing them up toward her face to brush away the tears and dirt. She hesitated as she saw that even beneath the darkened midnight sky, her skin was clearly a deep shade of _blue_. The painful memories brought on by the sight only made her feel worse, and she dropped her hands to her sides in disgust as she screamed, no longer caring in the slightest who heard her.

With shaking hands, she pulled Sun's scroll from her vest pocket and opened her previous conversation with Blake. Messages enough to fill the entire screen and then some greeted her, each sent to Blake within the last twenty minutes, and none of which had received a reply. Ilia's thumbs danced across the touchscreen again as she sniffled, rocking slightly back and forth in some vain attempt to comfort herself.

 _Blake, PLEASE! You don't know what he'll do to me if he finds out that you have my scroll! I'll meet anywhere you want and make the trade, but you're sentencing me to death by ignoring me! DON'T DO THIS!_

Ilia's lip quivered as she watched two droplets of moisture hit the screen of the scroll and turn some of the messages fuzzy. Her fingers flew across the glass once again.

 _Please. I'm begging you, and I don't beg._

Ilia's thumb twitched involuntarily as she held herself back, her stomach doing loops as she considered her last resort. She bit hard on her lip as she clenched her eyes shut, her heart pounding wildly in her chest as she forced her thumbs across the screen. The motions were slow and deliberate, and it felt as though she spent a full hour typing out the simple message.

 _Please. I still love you._

A cascade of droplets hit the glass like a sudden, ephemeral rain. Ilia snapped the scroll closed and brought it back to her pocket before she opened her eyes. Seeing the message would make it _real_. Making it real would be admitting far too much to herself, and Ilia knew that if she allowed her words, and _his_ words any farther into her heart, her life would come crumbling down around her. Already, it was balanced on the edge of a brittle knife, and Ilia felt that a simple push in _any_ direction could literally mean her death, or another great loss.

"…a most unbecoming look, for an esteemed member of the White Fang."

Ilia screamed in terror as she turned, scooting back through the dirt as she drew her arms in toward her chest. Her eyes flew open as she looked up into the face of Fennec Albain, stood over her and wearing a judgmental expression.

"H-h-how long have you been f-following me…?" Ilia stammered. She let her hands drop to the grass with heavy impacts, and began to knead the dirt and leaves beneath.

"…over an hour. Perhaps two," he stated plainly. Fennec took a step forward, his hands clasped together within the sleeves of his robes. "Your attempted combat against the Belladonna girl and her lover was admirable, though misguided. Stand."

Ilia narrowed her eyes as her skin shifted to a shade of deep red. "Why didn't you _help!?_ With the other grunts, the two of us could have taken them!"

"Because doing so goes against my orders. My brother and I are the public face of the White Fang in Kuo Kuana. To assist you against them in anything short of _murder_ would expose us. _Stand_." Fennec narrowed his eyes as he stared down at Ilia, his disappointment plain to see.

Ilia acquiesced, and dragged herself up from the forest floor with a sniffle. She blinked in surprise as she felt a trail of blood begin to snake down her lip from where she had bitten it moments before, and ran her tongue sideways to stem the flow. Fennec turned and stooped to open a small blue box atop the uneven tree stump, where Ilia had tripped. She eyed both the box and the stump curiously, taking note of how one side had been cut at an angle, while the other was straight.

"F-fennec, I… I'm _sorry_. I thought I had it under control."

"Stop sniffling, like some infant who fell over. Your current state is pathetic to behold. Glass shards and a bloody lip do not warrant streams of tears. Adam will be _most_ displeased, if I tell him of your emotional instability." Fennec approached with a gauze pad and pair of tweezers, and Ilia's heart stopped.

Had he seen the messages, or did he think the tears were only physical pain? Ilia folded her arms across her chest and whimpered as she considered the horrific notion that he _knew_ , and found herself looking off to the side as she prayed that he mistook her actions for symptoms of her injuries.

"P-please. D-don't. I'm just… I'm… I-I'm having a rough night. It's more the shock of it all, than the pain… I think. I've never had puncture wounds…" Ilia tried, hoping for sympathy. Her skin shifted from deep red to a muted, sickly-looking pink to emphasize her embarrassment. To her surprise, Fennec let out a breath from his nose and softened his tone ever so slightly.

"… _clearly_. I remember my first encounter with such injuries, and they are not pleasant. Come, sit upon this stump," he said as he turned to move the first-aid kit. He stepped aside, and Ilia walked over to take a seat upon the sloppily-cleaved wood. "His combat abilities exceed your own. Every hit you landed was either a surprise attack, or an opportunistic strike taking advantage of his naiveté."

Ilia _wanted_ to glare at him as he moved in to begin plucking glass shards from her outstretched arm, but found that she couldn't. She knew that what he said was _true_ , and she also knew that if he had watched the confrontation, he had even more reason to doubt her intentions.

"…I know. I didn't expect him to be so… _wild_ , in combat. I won't underestimate him again. I promise," she added. Fennec offered no reply as he worked, and Ilia sucked in a breath through her teeth as she watched a jagged shard stained with thick, partially-solidified blood leave her shoulder. "Was… anything he said true…?"

Fennec gave Ilia a sideways glance as he paused, tweezers gripped around another fragment of glass and ready to pull. "…what did he say? I was not close enough to hear the words exchanged in the confrontation. Merely to see it."

A small surge of hope rushed through Ilia's chest at the realization, and she thought quickly to come up with something that could dispel any suspicion.

"He said that… he said that our human allies specifically _targeted_ the faunus in Vale behind our backs, at the fall of Beacon. The White Fang was deployed to a single area to keep the slaughter of our people out of our sight. I told him that it was a lie, and that I knew he was just trying to drive a wedge between powers," Ilia finished with a hiss as Fennec removed the shard. His brows furrowed as he contemplated the words while running alcohol-soaked gauze over the freshly reopened wound.

" _Hm_ … that is the first I have heard of such a thing. I will consult with Adam to see if there is perhaps a grain of truth in the monkey's words. To be honest, I would _not_ put it past our human 'allies' to do such a thing. Adam distrusts them, already. All of his letters have been replied to with excuses, delays, and increasingly more terse instructions from a woman named 'Cinder'. He is growing impatient."

"Delays? Delays of what…?" Ilia asked. The words left her lips before she knew her motivation for asking, and her innards began to feel as if they were being wrenched back and forth. Never before had she questioned orders or the intent behind them, and she didn't quite know why she bothered then, or why she thought Fennec would even tell her.

Fennec wrenched another shared of glass from Ilia's shoulder and earned a high-pitched whimper from the girl for his efforts. He reached out with his free hand and clenched her jaw painfully, while fixing her with a glare. " _Silence_ , girl!" he intoned through gritted teeth before slowly releasing his grip. "You'll draw attention to us!"

Ilia nodded and whispered an apology, to which Fennec responded with an annoyed grunt. "I do not know the details, but I _do_ know that we are on standby, currently. In time, our next order of business is to attack Haven Academy. Cinnamon has been deployed here and has _long_ since completed her task, and yet, she is being told to remain in town. It would _seem_ that the humans do not trust us enough to handle it on our own, despite our considerable contributions to the fall of Beacon. With the two of them leading us, Haven could be brought down immediately. Adam is _quite_ annoyed."

Anger boiled within Ilia's breast as she mulled over the words, her feelings torn between the fury brought on by fact that Fennec was likely right about their 'allies', and uncomfortable responsibility for being privy to such exclusive knowledge. "…when are we going to break away from this 'benefactor' that Adam has mentioned? It's clear that they think little of us."

"When Adam deems the time right," Fennec replied matter-of-factly as he wrenched the final, largest shard from Ilia's shoulder without warning. She clasped a hand over her mouth and bit down _hard_ on a finger to suppress the urge to cry out. As she pulled back, she found teeth marks embedded into her normal-colored flesh.

"A-and Sienna? How will we convince her to let us splinter off on our own?"

Fennec extended the gauze and gently dabbed at Ilia's lip to wipe away the crusted blood, and she shivered at the touch. "Worry not. Adam has a plan."

Ilia paused as a feeling of pins and needles tingled its way up her bare arms. Something about the way he said it filled her with an uncomfortable feeling, as if she knew exactly what the _plan_ would end up being. The image of their fallen comrade, hidden hastily behind the flaps of the tent flashed briefly in her mind, and she looked away as Fennec began to bandage her arm with another clean roll of white gauze.

"…of course he does." Ilia paused, and found her lips working automatically. "I trust in Master Taurus. Whatever plan he has, _especially_ if Cinnamon is involved, will be worth the wait." Despite her automatic response, the fiery passion for the cause that would normally swell in her heart with such words was suspiciously absent. Ilia felt hollow, and she found that she didn't like the sensation at all.

"As well you _should_ ," came the immediate reply. "Now, before I leave you to… _clean yourself_ of this unsightly mess, I would very much like to know whether or not you found anything useful within that boy's scroll. You certainly spent enough time staring at it on the way back here."

Ilia's blood ran cold, and she knew that her answer had the potential to cause a chain reaction with any number of outcomes. She knew that she had to give him _something_ , and she knew that it had to be true. With a distinct feeling of unease, she licked her lips.

"…nothing really _immediately_ useful, but… there were a lot of pictures of a building. It had a white paint job, with a pale blue roof, somewhere in Vacuo. It didn't look like anything important in general, but it's _clearly_ important to him. If I had to guess, given the number of kids in the photos, maybe… an orphanage? Foster home? A day care, even? Something like that."

A twisted smirk worked its way across Fennec's features as he tied off the gauze and rose, while clasping his hands within his sleeves once again. "Interesting. _Very_ interesting. I'll look into it, once I am able. It could make for good collateral. He _is_ becoming a pain for you, is he not?"

Ilia stood, and looked down into the grass. "He is. Keep me updated, if anything changes about our overall mission, or with our standing in this village."

"I expect you will do the same?" Fennec inclined.

Ilia offered him a curt nod, and turned. Far in the distance, she could see the outline of the Belladonna mansion. "Of course. I have some things to attend to."

Fennec followed her gaze and offered a chuckle. "As do I, Sister Amitola. Be careful what fights you pick, from here on. Some are not worth your passion, and it would be… a _shame_ to lose you, over something foolish."

The undergrowth rustled as Fennec took his leave, and Ilia kept her gaze locked on the building in the distance. She spoke softly to herself as she began to walk toward it, considering her next move.

"…yeah. It would be…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

…when I switched temporarily to an every other day update schedule, I resolved that I would never do it again because cranking out chapters that quickly was a huge hassle. I've spent most of today thinking about how badly I want this chapter out in the wild, and it's been written since last night, so you know what? I decided to just hit the button again. Considering the facts that it's a (relatively) short one compared to the last several chapters, how important it is to the overall story, how generous and kind people have been with reviews, and the fact that people **clearly** want this one, I think it's best to drop it now in an unplanned double update. I **will** still be posting the next chapter on the 23rd. It isn't even written yet, but I'll make it happen.

Ilia's got it rough, and it's a huge shame that she was dumped so unceremoniously from the show. Unlike Sun, I have a bad feeling she'll never return in canon, outside of maybe appearing in a background cameo two or three seasons from now and her skin changing as part of a one-off joke, or something. _Hooray_. Time to do her what justice I can here, instead.

Prepare for things to get a little wet and messy on the 23rd.

 **-RD**


	18. How to Thing

"Blake, for the third time, it's _fine_. It hurt a lot worse before, and I'll get used to it being kinda ugly. I'm more worried about you, right now."

Sun sat upon a stool in the middle of the kitchen, arm outstretched as Blake inspected every inch of his palm. He was shirtless and without his gauntlets, leaving him in only his shorts and necklace. Blake, in contrast, was still wearing her sodden clothes as she sat across from him with a first aid kit on the kitchen island next to her. Her pale skin glistened from the moisture still clinging to it beneath the dim glow of the overhead light, and Sun found himself transfixed by the ethereal glow that it added to her features.

"Me? I'm unscathed. You have a literal scar, and a bunch of small cuts on your arms that are covered in dirt. We're getting you sorted before anything else, and that includes dealing with Ilia's scroll."

"Blake, you're _freezing_ ," he emphasized as he watched her shiver yet again. Her weighty mass of hair was still damp around her shoulders, and her clothes had only partially dried on the walk back to the manor.

"It's not that bad," she said rather quickly as she made a second pass over his palm with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball.

Sun frowned, and gave her an adorable little pout as he lowered his voice. "I really don't want to see you get sick…"

" _Ugh! Fine!_ " Blake replied in disgust. She slammed the cotton ball down onto the wooden surface of the island and quickly began to undo the buttons of her shirt. Sun raised a brow and thought to ask what she was doing, but understood almost immediately and reached a hand out to stop her.

"Blake, if your parents wake up and see us down here w-"

"I don't care!" Blake countered as she wriggled out of the dress shirt, and let it drop to the floor behind herself. There she sat, her chest exposed save for a lacy black bra, and Sun found himself unable to speak as he fought the hardest battle of his life to keep his eyes locked on hers. "There, are you happy, now? No more damp shirt. Now shut up, and let me fix you."

"…okay. Just… can you, uh… calm down, a little? You've been weirdly intense, lately. I mean, you're usually pretty intense, but I can tell that you're on edge. It's making me worry, more than a little."

Blake fixed him with an annoyed glare, took a deep breath in through her nose, and finished it with a heavy sigh through her mouth. She kept her tone even and honest as she took Sun's injured hand in both of hers, and lightly began to rub around the wound with the cotton. "…I know. I'm sorry, but I've just assumed that you get it. I know you get _me_ , so I felt like I didn't even have to say anything."

"You didn't, and I do. I just want to understand why this is so important to you, right now," Sun replied. He slowly raised their hands upward and dipped his head to meet them, before planting a soft kiss upon the back of Blake's right hand.

"…because you take care of me literally every second we're together. It's my turn to take care of you, and you're worried that I might get the sniffles instead of just keeping your mouth shut and letting me pamper you," Blake admitted.

"Gotcha. Can I at least get you a towel, so you're… you know, _covered_ , before you check my arms over?" Sun asked with a small cough.

"Does it bother you? The top I had on before I stole your shirt didn't cover _that_ much more," Blake said with a roll of her eyes. Sun considered the point, and allowed himself a quick glance downward at her chest. Despite the truth of her words, the sight still caused his heart to skip a beat, before he looked back up at her.

"It doesn't _bother_ me, it's just… a little awkward. Especially since we're 'a thing', now? I don't know how to thing."

"You don't know how to thing," Blake repeated. "You are a master of linguistics."

"Don't mock the injured man," Sun whined as Blake stood and walked to the sink. She kept her back turned to him as she picked up a washcloth from the counter, and began to run it under the water.

"…so, this may come as a surprise to you, but I _also_ don't know 'how to thing', Sun. Adam was my first relationship, and the only one before you. What I thought was passion and intensity coming from him, I just accepted as normal in a relationship because I didn't know any better. I didn't _understand_. I was too young, and he was just old enough to manipulate me into believing everything was fine. It wasn't passion, intensity, or _fine_. It was… it was something else." Blake's voice grew quieter near the end of her train of thought, and Sun stood and walked over to join her side. He rested his left arm around her waist, and pulled her gently into his side.

"…abuse?"

"Abuse," Blake agreed, her voice barely above a whisper. "It started small. Verbal, when he was frustrated. Eventually, it turned physical. That was rare, but it _did_ happen. He choked me, once, for questioning him about something simple while he was already angry. After that first time, I wanted to cut him off and just run, but… I didn't. He has a way with words, and he managed to convince me that somehow, it wasn't _his_ fault. Nothing was ever his fault. It got worse over time, and eventually, the abuse even became..." Blake paused, and rested her palms along the metal rim of the sink as the water continued to run. Her ears flattened, and she shivered once again. "…something worse," she finished quickly.

Sun listened intently, and tried his best to help her along. Eventually, he found the courage to speak.

"…sexual…?"

Blake refused to look at Sun, and only offered him a slow nod in response. "…lean over the sink, and put an arm into the basin. It'll make cleaning it off easier."

Sun did as was asked of him, and leaned down to rest his right forearm against the cold metal. In contrast, his chest had grown heated and tight, and his mind was filled with thoughts of what exactly he wanted to do to Adam when they finally met. "I'm sorry, Blake. Is there… is there anything I can really do, to help? I know I'm not qualified at all, but… anything that would make you feel even a little bit better?"

Blake leaned in and began to run the damp cloth up and around his biceps, kneading the material into the small cuts and scrapes along the flesh. A thin stream of pink water began to pool down near his elbow, and she kept her eyes locked on the trailing liquid, instead of him. "I don't know, other than being patient, and helping me feel… _normal_."

"…how _do_ you feel about it? So I know where to start," Sun questioned as he followed her gaze.

"…filthy. _Ruined_. Like he stole something from me, all while managing to convince me it was his to begin with," Blake replied without any hesitation.

Sun remained still as she brought another alcohol-covered cotton ball into the process, and ran it along his wounds. He wracked his brain for an appropriate response, and began to grow frustrated with his lack of experience in the matter. Nothing else mattered but helping her to recover, but how could he manage it if he didn't even understand the implications of what she was going through?

"Honestly, I feel like anything comforting I could say you either already know is true, or it would be something you don't want to hear. So, I guess, all I can really think of is… I'll do what I can. The best I can, every day, and focus on making progress."

Blake offered him a weak, weary smile as she finally dared to look at him once again. She lifted a towel from the counter and rubbed down his arm to dry it with another shiver.

"…other arm. And… thank you, both for that, and for _not_ telling me that my feelings are wrong, or that you don't think I'm 'ruined'. To put it bluntly, it doesn't _matter_ what you think of me, physically. I know how _I_ feel, and I have no idea how to make it go away. That lingering discomfort is here to stay, for now. I'm probably going to react… _badly_ , if and when we get to the point of anything to do with sex. I'm sorry, Sun. You deserve better than that from me."

Sun turned as instructed and lowered his other arm into the sink as he turned to face her. "And I'm probably going to burst into flame or melt into a puddle of goo from sheer embarrassment if we reach that point. So, in other words, it'll be _hot_ ," Sun said, with hyperbolic emphasis on the last word.

" _So_ hot," Blake stated while rolling her eyes before getting to work on the other arm. "I'll probably be a traumatized mess, and you'll be too nervous to do anything, if you can even… get it working. I really wouldn't be shocked if our first attempt at anything intimate ends with one of us hiding in the bathroom and throwing up while the other goes for a walk and curses themselves out. We'll get there when we get there," she said with a sense of finality. Sun chewed his lip to buy himself a moment to hesitate, but found that he could no longer resist the burning question that had been at the forefront of his mind for the entire day.

"Blake, can I ask you something? Something about… _this_ topic, before we shelve it for the night? I promise, this is the end of it."

Blake sucked in a breath as she shut off the sink and made a beckoning motion to draw Sun back to the set of stools with her as she ran the towel along his arm again. The pair of them sat down, and Blake set down the towel to begin to wrap his arms in gauze. "…so long as you're careful about it, and the question is reasonable."

Sun visibly tensed as he looked down at the gauze spiraling around his arm as it covered his wounds, and tried to find a way to phrase his query in a way that wouldn't get him smacked upside the head for a second time. "So, I understand being uncomfortable with the idea of sex, and… _stuff_ … given what happened with Adam. But why are you so okay, or maybe even… _aggressive_ about being sexy?"

The gauze stopped moving abruptly as Blake gave him a confused look and deadpan tone. "…I can't help _being_ sexy, Sun, if that's what you think of me."

"No, no, not… naturally. I mean, you are, but…" He reached his free arm up to scratch the back of his head yet again. "I mean, the intentional stuff you do around me that has to _do_ with sex. Like, uh… leaving a thong on the door handle? Or ripping off your shirt in front of me, when there are obvious alternatives to warm up."

"…oh," came the simple reply as Blake continued her work on his arm. "It's… pretty simple, actually. If I initiate, then I have a sense of control over the situation. I do things like that when I'm _comfortable_ doing things like that, and I'm comfortable doing things like that with you. Being shirtless is… honestly pretty much the boundary, right now, but consider it testing the waters."

"Makes sense," Sun offered. "Trust me, Blake, you'll _definitely_ be the one 'initiating' for the foreseeable future. I'm in way over my head right now."

"I know, and it's pretty adorable." Blake switched to wrapping his other arm, across a smaller span of flesh. "Now, moving on, before this gets awkward. Ilia's scroll."

"Ilia's scroll…" Sun repeated. The very thought of the device filled him with unease, _especially_ having a direct line to Adam. He still wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to use it, with or without Blake's knowledge. "What's the plan?"

"What's the plan?" Blake asked incredulously. "The plan is that we snoop through her scroll, take _all_ of the White Fang data we can get, and we use it. There's no other option."

"There's an option, Blake. There are lots of options. Besides, I thought you didn't want to confront the White Fang? I know we kinda have to, now, but we don't have to crusade against them until you're ready. You came home to relax and clear your mind, remember?"

"And my mind has never been clearer, in terms of the White Fang. They need to be stopped, and _we_ need to get the wheels turning to make that happen. They're here in my hometown, and that changes everything. Who knows what they're planning? Ilia _attacked_ us! No one else seems to care enough to make a move, so now, we'll end this on our _own_." Blake stressed the last word as she tied off the gauze, and Sun hissed.

" _Too tight!"_

"Sorry!" Blake said as her ears flattened. She untied the knot and redid it, albeit looser. "But the point stands. That information is ours, and we're going to use it. Give me your clothes."

Sun paused for all of a second, before he shrugged and stood from his place atop the stool. He slipped his belt from his cargo shorts and let them drop, before handing the dirty material over to Blake. She took them, and began to mirror his actions with her own pants. It was Sun's turn to shiver, though not due to the temperature.

"…you really _are_ comfortable with us just hanging out in our underwear, aren't you?"

Blake shrugged as she haphazardly folded the clothing and walked to the adjacent laundry room. "I'm going to get changed into my nightie after I shower anyway, so enjoy the view while you can."

"…right. Anyway, I know we've got a huge tactical advantage right now, but is it really worth it? What if we get Ilia in trouble by using her scroll for our gain? Besides, I feel gross looking through her texts and stuff. They're… personal."

Blake returned from her brief stint in the other room, and carried their weaponry with her. "She made her choice. Besides, she sent me a _lot_ of your photos, so I know for a fact that she had no inhibitions about digging into _your_ life. It's usually pretty cute, but you need to stop being such a boy scout, at least about this. She's a stone-cold bitch, now, and this is our chance to flip the tables."

Sun remained still as Blake walked past him and into the large dining hall. He let out a noise of frustration before picking up the scroll from the island and following along. "Is she still sending you stuff from my scroll?"

"Probably. I blocked your number, as soon as you told me you managed to grab hers. The two of you have effectively traded, so why keep it?"

"I guess…" Sun stated, unsure. "Still, I'm not going to stoop to her level. I don't think we should go through anything we don't _need_ to. She's still a person, even if we're on opposite sides. It just doesn't feel right."

"Then _I'll_ do it, and you can keep your integrity intact," Blake spat as she began to ascend the stairs with Sun in tow. "Honestly, I don't see the problem, at all. She's the enemy, Sun."

"She _was_ your friend. From the sound of it, your _closest_ friend, before Beacon. I still think we can fix it. You didn't see her, when we fought. I got through to her, at least a little. Even a tiny seed of doubt is progress, right?"

Sun forced himself to stop short to avoid running into Blake as she stopped abruptly near the top of the stairs, and turned.

"…how do you know?"

Sun shifted his weight upon the step, and crossed his arms as he spoke with confidence. "I had her stuttering and nearly screaming at me, while I dressed down the White Fang for what they did at Beacon. Minutes later, she was in _tears_. Sure, she was injured, but I think there was a change. Her entire posture shifted, and she went on the defensive to try to get me to shut up. Does that sound like someone entirely devoted, to you? There's still hope! You _can't_ just give up on her! I'm not going to let this one go. Not when I can see how it makes you feel so clearly."

Blake huffed and turned to resume her ascent. As they transitioned into the hallway and made a left to return to the guest room, she shook her head in annoyance. " _Fine_. Fine, Sun. We let the scroll sit, for tonight, and we don't fish around in her files. But tomorrow… tomorrow, you, me, Mom and Dad are all going to sit down and discuss what we're doing with it, _and_ our next move. We're deciding this as a family. It's too important to just risk it all on Ilia, when she insists on siding against us."

Sun allowed himself a small, victorious smirk as they entered the bedroom together, and his heart fluttered at the thought of being considered 'family'. Blake moved to scoop up her nightie from one of the chairs near the door while depositing Sun's staff in its place, and Sun immediately walked to the bed and flopped upon it with a heavy sigh. "Sure, that's fair. I'm glad you're at least open to talking about this."

"With you? I'm open to talking about just about anything." Blake paused just before the bathroom door, with one hand on the wooden frame. "…I _do_ still care about her. I'm just… frustrated. Very, _very_ frustrated that she's so unwilling to even consider that she's just as much at fault as I was, when I left. I feel like I grew up and started to see the world for what it is, while she outright refuses to reevaluate her worldview and wants to just… be angry for the sake of being angry, instead of thinking things through."

"Yeah, I get that. But maybe she needs _you_ to make that step forward. She just got so used to not having you around anymore that she shut down, but now that you're back… maybe things will work out."

Blake blinked, and paused to let his words sink in. "…just like I needed you." Sun said nothing, but gave her a small smile as he transitioned to sitting up on the bed.

"I'll… be out, soon. I just need to get the salt water off my skin, and sort out my hair." Blake paused and let her eyes drift to the floor, before she looked back to him with an uneasy smile. Her ears dropped to the sides as she spoke. "…I love you, Sun."

Sun was caught off guard by the statement, and chuckled. "Love you too, Blake. Lots."

Blake nodded and slipped into the bathroom with Gambol Shroud and her nightie, before locking the door behind herself. Sun flopped down onto his back, and let out a wistful sigh as he lifted Ilia's scroll and navigated once again to her contact list. He lazily moved his finger downward, looking through the pictures and pausing as he hit a contact listed as 'Cinnamon Shoal'. She was a dark-skinned woman with white dreadlocks and what seemed to be tribal-looking facial tattoos. Something about her features seemed familiar, and yet, Sun couldn't quite place it. He shook his head in disappointment as he scrolled back up to Adam, and squinted to take in what few details he could see in the small digital photo of his masked face.

An odd scraping noise of wood on wood rang out through the room and Sun's entire body jerked as he dropped the scroll onto the bed and rose into a standing position atop the mattress. He balled his fists and prepared for a fight as he watched the balcony door continue to slide open, and suddenly stop. Ilia stood in the small gap between the frame and the door, her face dirty and stained with tear trails. Her right arm looked much like his own, with gauze wrapping the entire length down to her wrist. As she looked up at Sun with a miserable expression, he slowly lowered his hands and walked forward to step off the bed and down onto the floor.

"…Ilia…?"

The chameleon faunus stepped into the room and slid the door closed behind herself, putting only a few feet between them. Though she appeared unarmed and crestfallen, Sun took a step backward out of instinct.

"I need my scroll back, Sun. I'm not leaving without it."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

So, I have some good news, and bad news about this story. The bad news is that I'm terrible at math, and even worse at estimation. The good news is that there is no way in hell this story is going to end within 30 chapters. As I said before, I finally have all of the details hashed out, and I figured it might be a good idea to make a tentative list of what I plan to cover in each chapter. With that list written out, this story is now projected to end at **40**. Sorry people, but this story is going to have at least ten more chapters than I thought. Oh, what a shame.

Also, I swear I know how to spell 'weighted'. Again, _you people saw nothing_.

Next update on Tuesday, the 26th.

 **-RD**


	19. Boiling Point

Neither Sun nor Ilia dared to move. Sun kept his breathing steady and calm as he looked her over, and Ilia kept her eyes on the floor as she breathed heavily through her mouth. He guessed that she had climbed the side of the building to get to the balcony, and from the looks of her arm, hadn't had an easy time.

"You can't be here. Kali had additional cameras put up, and you were probably seen entering." The tense silence between them was broken by the sounds of a shower running through the walls, and Sun looked over to the bathroom door. "You've got maybe ten minutes, before Blake comes out and this gets ugly. You should go."

"Not without my scroll," Ilia stressed as she looked up at him. "I probably wasn't seen, and I don't care if I was. Nothing matters but my scroll, and the information stored in it. I'll be _killed_ , and the blood will be on your hands, if you don't hand it over. As for Blake, it's obvious she doesn't care. I've been begging her for the past hour and a half using your scroll, and she hasn't even bothered to respond. She just… wants me to die. It's up to you, now." Ilia looked off to the side as she rubbed at her injured arm, her expression hopeless.

Sun slowly transitioned into a sitting position on the edge of the bed and rested his arms upon his legs while letting his tail flick along the floor restlessly. "She blocked my number right after we fought. Anything you've sent hasn't gone through." Ilia looked back at Sun with wide eyes, and she shifted her weight to one side. "Are you… okay?"

"What the hell do you care if I'm 'okay'? We're enemies, Sun!" Ilia snapped. A fire started within her eyes at his words, and her resolve strengthened. "But I _need_ you to cooperate. You don't understand what Adam is like. Even _she_ doesn't understand what Adam is like, now. If it gets out that you two are aware of anything in that scroll, I'm dead. That isn't exaggeration. I'll be executed without mercy, and I know you're too good to let that happen. So hand it over." Ilia punctuated the demand by putting her hand out expectantly, and staring him down. Sun didn't move.

"…you're here, unarmed, and more injured than I am. You walked in expecting both Blake and I, and you're still making demands. The first thing out of your mouth when I put up resistance was how losing your scroll will affect _you_ , and you haven't said a word about how the White Fang will be impacted. I get the feeling that whatever you sent Blake is much the same, but more personal. I'm not buying it, Ilia," Sun finished while narrowing his eyes.

"You think this is some kind of _game!?_ " Ilia fumed. Her hand shook momentarily, before she stepped forward and threw it into a vicious backhand against Sun's cheek. His head whipped hard to the side, and she stood with ragged breaths as fresh tears began to work their way down her cheeks.

Slowly, Sun turned his head back to face Ilia, a bright red mark beginning to manifest on the side of his face. He took a deep breath in and out through his nose, and gave her a stern glare. The sight was enough to make Ilia take a step backward and look to the sliding door as she contemplated making her escape. Sun rose to tower over her, and Ilia backed into the wall with a tiny grunt.

"No, I don't. I think that there's more to you than you're letting on. I think that all of that anger and hatred toward Blake and I isn't just coming from your involvement with the White Fang, or even the fact that Blake left you behind. You're having second thoughts, and you feel trapped. Right now, I'm your lifeline, so you're going to listen to me."

Ilia took in several shuddering breaths and clenched her jaw in defiance as she glared up at Sun with hatred in her eyes. "You don't know me. You know _nothing_ about me."

Sun decided to take a chance, and extended his arm to rest his palm against the wall, just over Ilia's shoulder. She flinched at the sudden movement, and her eyes flicked to the side to follow the impact before sliding back to him. "That's where you're wrong. I can read you like a book, Ilia. You don't want to do this. You don't want to be doing any of this! What you want is for things to be simple again, and to have Blake back in your life. You need her, and honestly, she needs you. Until we settle this, somehow, you're both going to be miserable."

"Read _this_ ," Ilia countered, as she drove her knee up and directly into Sun's crotch.

Sun let out a high-pitched, undignified whimper as he brought his hands down to his groin while gritting his teeth. Ilia took the opportunity to shift her skin color and slip around Sun as he coughed hard and doubled over momentarily. Ilia dove for her scroll upon the bed and managed to snatch it as Sun stumbled while turning, only for an unexpected voice to give her pause.

" _Drop it!_ "

Ilia froze, scroll in hand as she stared at the bathroom door. There stood Blake, one hand holding a towel around her chest like a dress, and the other aiming Gambol Shroud's barrel at Ilia's forehead. A head of steam swirled out of the open door as Blake began to walk forward, toward the chair that hosted Sun's weapon. Blake kept her weapon trained on Ilia and used her foot to knock the collapsed staff to the floor. She kicked it along the wood to Sun, who grasped the rod while checking his other one for damage. He let out a pained grunt and stood mostly straight as he extended his staff while taking up position in front of the balcony door with an angry glare.

"Sun, are you okay?" Blake asked in a sympathetic tone as she spared him a glance.

" _She kneed me in the balls!"_ he cried incredulously.

Blake's glare mirrored Sun's as she looked back to Ilia, who narrowed her eyes. "I should shoot you right now, Ilia."

"Then do it!" Ilia threatened. She trembled from her place upon the bed, eyes streaming as she sniffled. "Just… do it," she added in a defeated tone while shifting back to her natural skin color.

Blake lowered the gun ever so slightly, her ears flat against her skull. "What, you're just giving up entirely, now? What happened to all of that fire and conviction? Where's the blame, Ilia? Tell me how this is somehow my fault!"

"Blake, wait!" Sun shouted. He took a step forward and let out a grunt of pain as he found it slightly difficult to walk. One hand remained in his boxers as he shifted and hissed, while the other kept a tight grip on his weapon. "Everyone just needs to calm down."

Blake took her eyes off of Sun and brought them back to Ilia with a deep breath. "Put down the scroll, Ilia, if you want any chance of walking out of here tonight," she commanded. Ilia did as ordered with another sniffle, and tossed the device to Sun. He caught it with his free hand, and let out a sigh.

"Now, come on, girls. Both of you. Let's just… sit and talk," Sun said while collapsing his staff. He kept the shortened version in hand, and walked over to one of the waiting seats. Blake huffed, and Ilia didn't move as she began to speak.

"I hate you. I hate both of you, so much. There's nothing to talk about." Ilia looked over to Blake, who kept her gun in position. "If you care about me at all anymore, you'll just let me go. Coming here was a mistake."

Blake opened her mouth to speak, but Sun interrupted as he lowered himself into the chair and adjusted his underwear for a final time. "Ilia, if you come and sit with us, I will personally guarantee you walk out of here with your scroll tonight. We haven't even started looking through it."

" _Sun!_ " Blake yelled, wide-eyed. "Why would you… you can't just… she is _not_ getting that scroll! We already agreed t-"

"I know what we agreed to," Sun cut in. "But sometimes, you've gotta shift the plan. I'm not in the best mood right now, and I'm done playing around. Let me take the lead, just this once. I need you to trust me."

Blake ground her teeth together as she lowered her weapon with a frustrated growl. "You had _better_ know what you're doing. Ilia, take a seat. I'm going to get changed, and if you touch him again, I swear to the gods, you're _dead_." She lowered her weapon and stomped back into the bathroom, before slamming the door.

Sun watched her go, before turning his eyes to Ilia and finding hers already upon him. Slowly, she descended from her spot upon the bed and walked over to take the chair across from Sun, on the other side of the tile coffee table. As she lowered herself into the chair, she spoke one uncomfortable word in a strained voice.

"… _why?_ "

"Because I've been thinking about it all since you turned on us, and I just finally got it, after you dared Blake to shoot you. You think no one cares about you at all," Sun stated. Ilia pulled her knees up onto the seat and wrapped her arms around them as more tears began to fall.

" _I_ care, even if you think I shouldn't. I know for a fact that Blake still cares. We were just talking about you, before you showed up. She misses you, even if she won't admit it to you tonight. If you just follow my lead and give us some information, we can start taking steps to fix this."

Ilia chose not to reply. The bathroom door crashed open once again, and an angry Blake in her pitch-black nightie joined the pair, weapon in hand as she sat in the chair next to Sun.

"Start talking. What do you want, Ilia? Why did you come here tonight? You knew you were walking into a bad situation, unarmed, against both of us, possibly my parents, and the entire manor staff if we summoned them. What were you hoping to accomplish?"

Ilia sniffed, and looked at Sun. He nodded, and she began to speak. "My scroll. Adam's gotten even more violent, lately, and if he finds out that you two have it, he's going to kill me. It's gotten bad, Blake. Really bad. I found a body. One of ours. He tried to hide it behind his tent, but…"

Blake narrowed her eyes and dug her fingers into the armrest of the chair. "He killed one of our own? Why?"

"I don't know," Ilia admitted.

"It doesn't _matter_ why," Sun added. "Even if you walk away our enemy tonight, neither of us want you dead. Right?" Sun looked over to Blake, who heaved a dramatic sigh.

" _Right_. But that doesn't mean it's going to be easy. We… _Sun_ is putting us out there, for you. If it was up to me, you'd be unconscious and tied to a chair by now."

"Then I'm glad it's not up to you," Ilia shot back. Blake stared her down, and Ilia stared right back.

"Ladies, _please_ ," Sun tried while resting his hand atop Blake's. "This is getting us nowhere. Ilia, what matters to you, right now? What _really_ matters? Every time you mention Adam, it sounds like you're disgusted, terrified, or both. Is the White Fang really your priority?"

Ilia closed her eyes. "…what are you getting at, Sun? I can't just change instantly. There's too much at stake, and too many things that are in the w-"

" _Answer him!_ " Blake yelled while slamming a fist into the armrest of the chair. Ilia jumped and opened her eyes, her voice wavering.

"Survival!" she stated immediately. "My priority is staying alive. All I have left is _myself._ "

"And us," Sun corrected.

"Bullshit," Ilia glowered. "Why should I even believe you care about me? How do I know you're not just doing this for information, and then you're going to tie me to that chair Blake mentioned?"

"Ilia," Blake began, "this dumbass literally followed me halfway around the world to make sure I was okay, after I spent months pushing him away, avoiding him, and giving him the cold shoulder. He knew what I was missing in life, and he gave it _all_ to me, and more. Am I acting anything like the Blake you remember?"

Ilia wrinkled her nose. "…there are pieces of the old you, but you've changed. You've changed a _lot_. You seem like you have your shit together, and you're… angrier."

"I'm angrier because you _don't_ have your shit together, and mine is only sorted because of _him_." Blake nodded toward Sun, and Ilia looked over at him. Sun had his hand in his boxers yet again as he squirmed, and Blake brought her palm up to her forehead with a satisfying _thwack_. " _Really_ , Sun?"

Sun brought his hand up with an apologetic grin. "Sorry, but that _really_ hurt." He cleared his throat and nodded to Ilia, who at least had the decency to look guilty. "That's only partially true. Blake had to put in a lot of effort herself, to figure things out. I just helped her along."

Blake rolled her eyes. "The point is, I had to trust, when I didn't want to. He made me see that you can't rely only on yourself, when things get rough." Blake drew in a deep breath, and her lip twitched. "If you're willing to put in the effort, I'll double down on what Sun said. _We_ will help you, and protect you."

Sun's face broke out into a full smile as he rubbed the back of Blake's hand, and the very sight caused Ilia's cheeks to turn a dark, jealous red.

"…you're offering me protection. From the White Fang. From _Adam_ ," Ilia stated. Blake shivered at the mention of the name, and visibly tensed. She opened her mouth to speak, and looked away as she pulled her hand out from beneath Sun's. He looked to Blake with a worried glance, and then turned sympathetic eyes over to Ilia.

"…we _have_ to face him, eventually. It might as well be to defend you, if you're with us."

Ilia looked down, and considered Sun's words. She closed her eyes and let the tears fall as they willed, soaking her cheeks and neck. "I can't just _change_. I still believe in the White Fang. I still believe in what they… _used_ to be. Sienna doesn't have a grip on them, and the radical side is getting bigger and bigger. I know what's going to happen, and I know that Adam can't be stopped. I wish it wasn't the way it is, but I'm not enough to make a change. If I suggested it, I'd be silenced. I'm not close enough to the top to have any impact. I want faunus rights, just like you did, Blake. I want to see a brighter future, and even if he _is_ extreme, Adam is getting us results. I didn't care that he got them through fear before, but lately… I do. The biggest problem is that it doesn't matter how I feel, it's going to happen anyway. I'm scared. I'm _alone_."

As she finished speaking, a comforting embrace surrounded Ilia within her seat. The sensation was all-encompassing, and she leaned forward into the powerful hug. As she opened her eyes, she expected to find Sun wrapping her in his muscular arms, and instead found Blake's arms around her neck and back. Upon seeing her friend's actions, she threw her arms around Blake's shoulders and buried her face into the cascade of jet-black hair before her as she began to sob openly.

Sun leaned forward in his chair and considered joining in on the hug as the girls before him gently rocked from side to side in their embrace. Instead, he thought better of it, and stood into a stretch. He walked to the nearby wall and leaned his back against it as he elected to simply watch, and wait. A twinge of jealousy arose in his chest, and Sun made an effort to banish the thoughts that came with it as the pair broke and looked at each other.

"I _told_ you she still cares," Sun said while avoiding their eyes. "We're… in this together, now."

Ilia wiped her eyes and slipped out of her chair to stand as Blake backed up to give her space. "It isn't that easy, Sun. In public, we'll still have to be enemies. I can't just turn my back on the Fang completely, and expect you two to shield me. We have to work subtly, and… I'm still not completely convinced. What's the long term plan, here?"

Blake moved to where she could see both of them, and addressed her friends. "It's simple. Simpler than I thought. The Belladonnas are taking back the White Fang. Ilia, if you still really believe, but you don't endorse Adam and think Sienna is too weak or blind to stop him… then we make the Fang what it used to be. If Dad doesn't want to do it, _I will_."

Silence filled the room, and Sun focused less upon her words, and more upon the fact that Blake's cheeks were almost as wet as Ilia's. He made his way over and wrapped her in a warm embrace from behind, before closing his eyes and resting his head into the crook of her neck.

"Blake, if that's what you want to do, then we'll do it. I'll help you, and if Ilia's worth her words, then so will she." He opened his eyes and gave the girl a pointed look from his position behind Blake. Ilia hesitated, and drew in a deep breath as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"…if you're serious… then I will. I'll be your eyes on the inside, but we need to be careful. _Extremely_ careful. One slip, and it's over."

"Then we check our footing before we start taking steps forward," Sun replied. "Tell us what you can. Anything you think we need to know, right now."

Ilia sat down in her seat as the couple remained standing, and she leaned backward with a deep breath. "First… the Fang is planning to strike Haven Academy. From what I understand, we're being delayed by some outside force, but the people responsible for the Fall of Beacon are contracting us again to lay siege to the school."

"No…" Blake shivered as she turned her head to look at Sun. "We can't let that happen. We need to get to Haven, as soon as possible!"

"Wait," Sun instructed. " _Breathe_. We need to take this slow and steady, and hear her out. Cinder's crew won't strike at Haven without the Fang, and Ilia can let us know when they're going to move. Right?" He looked to her for confirmation, and Ilia nodded.

"Right. I don't know our exact role in the assault, but I know that Adam and a faunus named Cinnamon are at the forefront. Cinnamon is a high-ranking engineer, and Adam's right-hand woman. I just found out that she's been stationed in Kuo Kuana. If she's got a big part to play, then you can bet that they're planning on using explosives, and possibly traps."

Sun and Blake looked at each other again, and he gave Ilia a nod. "Then, priority one has to be figuring out what Cinnamon is up to, and taking her out to cripple the Fang. After that, we can figure out a way to strike at Adam, and take back the organization from here."

Blake sucked in a breath. "Tell us everything you can about Cinnamon. Where we can find her, how much of a threat she is in direct combat… anything useful."

Ilia frowned, and shifted in her chair. "Cinnamon Shoal. She's in her late twenties, and a fully-trained huntress. As a faunus, her trait is envenomed spines, jutting out of her upper arms."

Suddenly, his familiarity with the woman clicked, and Sun found himself replaying a memory from when he and Ilia had first met.

"…I did look through your contacts, and I saw her face. I ran into that woman at the market! Dark skin, white dreads, wears a lot of orange and white?"

Ilia nodded. "Striped tattoos down her left side. She's a lionfish faunus, and she runs with that theme. I don't know where she is in town, but Blake's dad might. He _is_ in charge of Kuo Kuana."

"Her semblance," Blake stated. "What's her angle in combat, if we end up against her? I'm guessing it has something to do with the venom?"

Ilia paused, and bit her lip. "I… can't tell you."

Sun balked at the statement, and stepped out from behind Blake as he threw his hands up. "What!? Why not?"

"Because it's… _unique_ , to say the least. If you two suddenly know that information, when it's something she would never show in public, she'll know that there's a rat. I'm the prime suspect, right now. Knowing she's with the Fang isn't a big deal, but knowing the details of what she can do definitely _is_. Just… don't let her touch you, and _definitely_ don't let her inject you."

"Yeah, we'll try not to get stabbed by venomous spines. Thanks," Blake said sarcastically.

" _Hey!_ I'm doing the best I can, alright? Make her a priority, and then we'll talk again soon. For now, though, I'd better get out of here. It's almost dawn, and I'm expected back at the camp."

"Wait, before you go…" Sun said as he approached her. Ilia stood, and he pulled her into a tight hug, earning a squeak from the smaller girl.

" _Really_ , Sun? I stole your scroll, tried to kill you, messed up your bits, and I'm _still_ getting a hug?"

"Water under the bridge, Ilia. We've got bigger issues to handle." Sun pulled back, and offered her scroll. Ilia reached into a vest pocket and withdrew his, before they made the trade. "Thanks."

"You, too. Now, can I leave you two kids alone without having to worry?" she joked, though her tone felt hollow.

Blake offered a nod, and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. "Take care of yourself, Ilia. We still need to have some more serious talks, before this is okay… but it's a start."

Sun moved to sit beside her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "If you need to contact us, come through the balcony. We'll clear it with the staff."

Ilia moved for the balcony door, and slid it open. She looked over her shoulder as she rested a hand on the frame, and sighed. "I'm sorry in advance for anything I have to do in public that goes against you two. Just… try to hurry with destabilizing the White Fang here. Please?"

"We will. I promise," Sun nodded. Ilia slipped through the door and seemingly disappeared into the night as it slid closed once again.

Blake's lips clashed against Sun's as he turned to face her once again, and he instinctively put his hand up to her cheek to deepen the motion before it broke.

"… _thank you_ , Sun. It's good to have her back, even partially."

"Hey, you did just as much as me. I just got the ball rolling." He stood and stretched, and found Blake's icy hand on his side.

"Where are you going…?"

"I gotta pee, and then I'll come to bed. Dunno about you, but I can absolutely get a few hours of sleep, despite being unconscious most of the day," he admitted.

"Same here. We'll try to get up for early afternoon, and then… figure out what to do, with Mom and Dad."

Sun nodded as he walked toward the bathroom. "Hey, unblock my number?"

"On it," Blake replied as she drew her own scroll.

Sun slipped into the bathroom and took his own scroll out as he closed the door to check it over for damage. He found the device relatively unscathed, and decided to navigate to 'his' previous conversations with Blake, out of curiosity. The most recent text from 'him' caught his eye, and he found himself reading it over multiple times.

 _Please. I still love you_.

Sun's expression pulled into a frown as a familiar flare of jealousy pulsed through his chest.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Tentative alliances, double agents, hidden feelings revealed, a new antagonist, and a plan to usurp the White Fang. What could _possibly_ go wrong?

Cinnamon Shoal does have artwork, but I don't think she should be the 'cover' of this story. I do have a plan to get her character design out to you all soon, beyond just a text description. Stay tuned.

Next update on Friday, March 1st.

 **-RD**


	20. With Love Comes Rot

"So you're telling me that Ilia Amitola, who stole your scroll, is now on our side and working for us as a double agent?"

"That's about the size of it, yeah. Things are tense, but things are good. Ish. We're making progress."

Sun brought the tea cup up to his lips and took a long sip, while keeping his eyes on Ghira. The patriarch kept his arms folded and brow furrowed as Kali leaned into his side, gently rubbing at his arm. Blake sat close to Sun, on his side of the low table, but refrained from making physical contact with her beau.

"Sun's right, Dad. The conversation was mostly peaceful, but… it probably wouldn't have been, if he wasn't here to handle things. We owe him… and especially _I_ owe him," Blake finished as she raised her own teacup to drink, while staring down her father. Ghira let out a long, low sigh in response. Kali trailed her nails down the side of his bicep to earn his attention, and a small grimace.

" _Sweetheart_ ," she began, "lighten up. Yes, Ilia broke in… _again_ , apparently, but it sounds like Blake and Sun know what they're doing. You should be happy that they can handle themselves… and also that we now have something to go on, with the White Fang."

Ghira's lip twitched as he struggled to convey his emotions, and he looked back to Blake to find her still staring him down. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, before looking over to a confused Sun and offering his best attempt at a disarming smile. "So… how is your hand, Sun?"

Sun blinked several times in confusion, and transferred his teacup to one hand, while turning over the bandaged one and flexing his fingers. "It's, uh, it's… not great, but better than it was? Thanks for asking."

"Hrm," Ghira commented. "You were… quite brave, chasing after an unknown opponent on your own, in an unfamiliar town. I am… impressed."

Blake nodded, and scooted a bit closer to Sun. "He was. Even more so, when Ilia got into our room. He handled it perfectly." She took another sip as Kali grinned, and Ghira gave her another confused look.

"My, my," Kali said while batting her eyes, "it sounds like you're the man of the hour to everyone here, Sun. I'd say you've more than earned your spot at this table, wouldn't you?" she asked as she elbowed her husband in the ribs.

"Grnf! Yes, clearly," Ghira stated after swallowing his mouthful of tea. "Why do I feel that everyone is ganging up on me, right now?"

Blake tried to be subtle in her actions, but ended up anything but as she leaned into Sun's arm, mirroring her mother's pose. "Because you've been a jerk to Sun."

" _Blake!_ " Sun interrupted. "Hey, it's… really, it's no big deal!" he said with a nervous grin as he set his teacup down on the table between him and the Belladonna couple. He raised his hands and put his palms outward, trying his best to defuse the situation. "We've come to an understanding… I think? I hope?"

Ghira frowned as Kali giggled. "Yes, I believe we have. He and I… talked a bit, while out in the woods."

"Doing stupid man things," Kali added.

"…yes. Doing 'stupid man things'," he agreed. "Consider this my formal apology, to both of you. It may not be an excuse, but fatherhood isn't easy."

Blake offered him a slow nod as she looped her arm around Sun's. "Apology accepted. _Right?_ " she asked, while giving him a tight squeeze.

" _Ow!_ Uh, yeah! Of course!" Sun looked to Ghira, and rubbed the back of his neck. "We're cool… but why do I get the feeling that both of our arms may be in mortal danger, right now?" he joked.

Ghira shrugged. "Belladonna women. They're strong… and passionate. Be ready, young man," he said with a smile. Sun blushed, and looked away as Blake began to speak again.

"Speaking of passionate… I want to talk about something serious, with both of you. Well, all three of you, but Sun already knows." Ghira and Kali both adjusted their postures ever so slightly, to sit up straight. Kali's ears stood up as she nodded.

"Anything, dear. If you _really_ think you two are ready for s-"

"So when Ilia came to our side last night," Blake interrupted as loudly as she could while Ghira looked at his wife in confusion, "she made mention of some troubling things in Kuo Kuana, and a bigger plan to make a move to attack Haven Academy. I don't know if Sienna has already agreed to it, but Ilia suggested that Adam may soon try to take over the Fang entirely. If that happens, or even if it doesn't, if Haven goes the way of Beacon… hundreds of lives are going to be lost. Faunus, _and_ human. We can't let that happen."

Ghira's expression soured immediately, and he let out an angry breath through his nose. "No, we cannot. I will send one of my men to bring word to Haven's headmaster, immediately."

"That won't be enough," Blake insisted. "Even if they're prepared, we should go and help. Sun and I will, no matter what, but… I have a plan, to cut off the head of the snake before things get bad. I want to take back the White Fang."

Silence fell over the room, and it was Sun's turn to wrap his arm around Blake's back, rolling the fabric of his former shirt as he rubbed.

Blake stared down her father with a determined look, and followed up. "If you don't, _I_ will."

For once, Kali was the one to interject with a worried tone. "Honey, you don't know what you're saying. 'Taking back' the White Fang means either imprisoning, or… _removing_ both Sienna and Adam. Even if all four of us made an effort, we won't be able to get that done, let alone in a timely manner."

Sun nodded, and folded his arms. "Which is why we want to address the people here, in Kuo Kuana, and start a groundswell of resistance. We have information on Adam's right hand woman in town. We're going to subdue her, and make the people of Kuo Kuana see what the White Fang is really about. We can address them in a public forum, and begin to get support from those who don't believe the Fang's lies. I'll make the speech."

" _I_ will make the speech," Ghira announced, breaking his silence. "If this is really something you want to do, and everything you have told me is accurate, then you are both right. We cannot simply stand by. As much as I loathe to do so, I will step back into the larger political arena, if lives are at stake."

Sun nodded slowly, his tail flicking behind himself. "So, if we play our cards right, you'd be willing to lead the White Fang again? If we actually pull this off, you'll go back?"

Kali let out a defeated noise, and looked down to the small rug beneath the table. Blake's ears flattened as she watched the uncharacteristic behavior, and she spoke with a concerned tone. "Mom…?"

"…I don't want this. I don't want _any_ of this," she began as she looked from Blake to Sun, and back again. "Getting out of the Fang cost us more than you'll ever know, and doing this puts your father at great personal risk… _if_ we even manage to get that far. But… if the three of you are in agreement, then I'll support you. Always."

Ghira mirrored Sun's motion as he pulled his wife into a half-embrace, and planted a gentle kiss upon one of her ears. "We've been blind, Kali. The Fang have been lying to us, and these two have brought definitive proof. You know I cannot simply sit back and let this injustice continue."

"It's our job to protect the people, as hunters," Sun cut in.

"And our responsibility as Belladonnas," Blake added.

"Well…" Sun began, only for Ghira to raise his free hand, calling for silence. Sun obeyed.

"You are as much a Belladonna as my own daughter, given everything you've done for us, and your spirit. I will not hear otherwise."

The room fell silent once again, and Sun felt a stinging moisture begin to well up in his eyes. His chest tightened as he began to panic, and he stood, letting Blake's arm slip from his as he shifted into a dramatic overhead stretch.

"I, uh, I really gotta pee. Sorry, guys, I'll be right back. Promise!" Sun gave the older couple a cheesy grin and whirled deftly on his heel before making a hasty retreat from the living room, praying that they hadn't caught on. His breathing hastened as he made a swift exit into the kitchen, and then the large, adjoining dining hall. He reached the stairs more quickly than he thought possible as his vision began to cloud with tears.

Sun closed his eyes as he took a few deep breaths while leaning with one hand on the railing. Thoughts of his former 'home' floated through his mind as he struggled to fight back memories of cold, lonely nights atop his old, worn mattress on the upper level of the foster home. Despite being surrounded by so many younger adoring faunus children, none of their affections felt like what he really longed for. Sun shook his head to banish the thoughts and took the steps two at a time, before making the left to the guest room.

As he pushed open the door and strode inside, some part of him wanted Ilia to be there. He knew it was irrational, and he knew that she was likely the last person on Remnant that he could expect to care about his sudden, overwhelming swell of emotion, but he needed _someone_ to hug. Someone without the last name 'Belladonna', and someone _distinctly_ not Blake.

Sun made his way into the bathroom, and leaned over the sink with a shuddering sigh. He sniffed and shook his head, feeling incredibly foolish that simple words had broken him down so quickly and effectively. Once again, he closed his eyes, and focused on trying to calm down… though he knew that bringing his thoughts to Blake would only worsen the problem. Ilia floated into his mind once again, but the immediate realization that _she_ had feelings for Blake as well only made him feel worse. He balled a fist and drove it into the ceramic of the countertop.

After what felt like an eternity of just breathing, Sun opened his eyes and looked into the mirror to find his cheeks streaked with tears. He frowned angrily at his reflection, and turned on the sink to hastily shovel water into his face. Sun knew that he had taken far too long, but he couldn't bring himself to go back downstairs.

"Come on, man," he said softly to himself as he reached for a washcloth. He soaked the material and brought it up to his face, before beginning to rub. "Pull it together, Sun."

Icy hands wrapped around the black edges of Sun's shirt and began to span across the flesh of his chest in a tight embrace. Sun breathed deeply into the soggy cloth as he titled his head back and closed his eyes. He _knew_ that it would come, sooner or later, and he steeled himself for some sarcastic quip or pressing questions.

"…I don't know what just happened, but I do know that you probably don't want to talk about it, right now," Blake stated softly. She reached up and took the cloth, before dropping it into the basin of the sink and gently tugging at Sun to turn him to face her. He shook his head slowly and sniffed, mentally cursing himself for looking weak.

"But when you feel comfortable, I want to know. I'm here for you, Sun. Remember, this isn't just about you helping me. That's not how relationships work. You've got to start letting me in, sometime soon. I think I'm finally starting to understand what it must have felt like to chase me around." Blake finished by planting a kiss on his jawline, and Sun shivered at the touch of her lips. He simply nodded, his voice very small.

"…sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I've got little things that set me off, too. It's okay. I don't think any less of you, and neither do my parents. All three of us are worried." Blake cupped his chin, and rubbed his cheek with her thumb.

"Don't be," Sun replied quickly. "I'm cool. Just, a little slip. I guess the whole messed up sleep schedule thing is wearing on me, along with the pressure and craziness of taking back the Fang. I'm cool."

"You already said that," Blake stated with a judgmental look. "You're still cool, but it's fine _not_ to be 'cool'. You can drop the act around me."

"I'll try. We should get back," Sun said while looking away.

"No need. I told them about Cinnamon, and Dad went to his office to try to dig up where she lives in town. They're all-in, now. We're going to go after her, and then address the public afterward."

Sun nodded, and looked back to Blake as he tried to find a way to keep the topic of conversation away from himself.

"Hey, is your mom alright? She seems really conflicted about all this. I feel bad," Sun admitted as he put his hands on Blake's shoulders.

"I don't know. That was… unlike her. I'm gonna go and talk to her, as soon as I know you're alright. Maybe you should go and help out Dad? If you're up to it?" Blake asked, while tilting her head.

"I'm c-… I'll manage. Just, don't worry about me? Please?" Sun begged.

"I'll worry about you all I want. I know you're doing the same," Blake countered.

Sun bit his lip. "…guilty. Are you feeling any better, after last night?"

Blake glared, and Sun slowly broke out into a nervous smile. She rolled her eyes, and decided against calling him on his deflection.

"…better than I was, yes. But seriously, you need to think more about yourself. You and I are going to have a long talk about it, soon."

Sun's eyes darted to the exit of the room, and he pulled a face. "Yeah, I had a feeling. I shouldn't keep your dad waiting, though. Uh, thanks for coming to check on me."

Blake leaned up and gave Sun a full-on kiss, which he gratefully accepted. "Thanks for being you."

"Ditto. I'll catch you in a bit, and we'll go on another date. A hunting bitches date."

Blake gave him an even look as she spoke in a deadpan voice. "How aggressively romantic."

"Hey, it might be!" Sun gave her a wink, and slipped past to make his way to the door. "I'll sweep you off your feet yet, cutie."

"Looking forward to it." Blake offered him a genuine smile, and Sun started to feel just a little bit better as he made his way out into the hall.

* * *

Sun didn't bother to knock as he walked into Ghira's office. He strode in confidently, and Ghira looked over from his place at the desk, half-moon glasses on as he leafed through a drawer full of folders.

"…you know, I was trying to make you feel _better_ …"

"I know, sir. Err, Ghira," Sun corrected as he stood before the desk. "I'm sorry for, uh… _that_."

"You needn't apologize to me, Sun. Though, given your sudden 'need to pee', I'm assuming you still haven't spoken to Blake about your past?" Ghira questioned. Sun visibly deflated as he slid his hands into his pockets.

"…nope."

"Why not, if I may ask?" Ghira lifted a handful of folders and began flicking through them, reading the tags.

"…I don't know. I mean, I _do_ know, but i-"

"You're putting her before yourself, as you said in the forest," Ghira finished for him. "That cannot continue forever, young man."

"I know, I know. She and I just had that conversation." Sun paused, and felt an icy sensation rush through his veins as he locked his eyes on the folders in Ghira's hand. "…Ghira, I think… I think I should probably let you know that uh, as of last night, Blake and I are… we're a thing, now."

Ghira's finger stopped flicking as he raised his eyes to meet Sun's. A bead of sweat ran down the younger male's face as Ghira mulled over his approach. "…well, I cannot say that I am surprised, but I will say… that was quite fast."

"…yep," Sun agreed. "Well, fast since we got here, sure, but we've known each other for months, now."

"Mm-hmm. While you and I have indeed reached an understanding… what I said the first time you were in this office still stands. Break her heart, and I will break you," Ghira reminded as he went back to looking through files.

"If I break her heart, I'll deserve it. She's unlike any other girl I've met," Sun said. "Well, other than her mother, in some ways."

"A comparison that I both agree with, and was afraid of. Though, in the same breath, it is good to see Blake beginning to show some of Kali's resilience and confidence. I believe I've found the file we're looking for," he added as he pulled up a tan folder and rested it upon his desk. He spread the sides to reveal several pieces of paper, and Sun moved closer to the desk to read aloud.

"…Cinnamon Shoal, 27, single. Faunus, obviously. Lionfish class, bought a two bedroom home on the east side… six months ago?" Sun questioned. "So, she's had eyes on Kuo Kuana for quite a bit of time. Given what Ilia told us, that means she's probably had eyes on _you_."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Ghira moved his finger to a line on the paper, beneath where Sun had read. "There's the address. Shall we go and see if she's home?"

"Blake and I will go," Sun replied. "It's too suspicious for the leader of the village to come knocking, especially if she's been keeping watch on the manor. With any luck, she has no idea who I am."

"I very much doubt that, if I am honest. There's also the matter that Blake mentioned that she is a trained huntress with an unknown semblance, and clearly, an adult. Are you sure you two will not need backup?"

Sun paused to consider, and pulled his lips into a frown. "…we might. Best not to take any chances, but…"

"Yes, yes, I would raise suspicion. Kali, on the other hand…"

"Would she be willing?" Sun inquired.

"For Blake, and for _you?_ I have no doubts. She's liked you since the beginning, you know."

"Oh, I know," Sun offered with a small chuckle. "She's very… _open_."

"That she is, and I would not have it any other way. I will ask her to join the two of you, though… might I make a suggestion to wear some armor? You and Blake both seem to have a fascination for parading around in plain clothes, even in combat. I do have spare equipment, within the manor."

"Eh, for this one… I think we'll be alright," Sun replied.

"If and when the time comes for Haven, though, I will insist," Ghira said in a dark tone.

"Gotcha. Well. I'll… go and get ready. Change my bandages, and get some stretching in," Sun offered as he headed for the door.

"And I will speak to Kali, and get to writing my speech. Good luck, Sun. I have no doubt that you will be successful." Ghira rose from behind the desk with a nod.

"Hey, if you don't? Then neither do I." Sun offered a smile, and disappeared through the door with a flick of his tail.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Halfway there… _maybe_.

I've debated switching the secondary tag to 'Adventure', given where this story is going, but chapters like this are why I keep it as 'Family'. Just because the story is going to feature a lot more action since Ilia's fight doesn't mean that Sun is over his issues, and neither is Blake.

I think we're due for another fight, eh? Get ready for Kali to have some spotlight soon, and maybe even find out what her semblance is. Here's a hint- _her name is Kali_.

Next update on Monday, the 4th.

 **-RD**


	21. Scented Venom

"Mom? Is everything okay?"

Blake walked into her parents' bedroom and looked around at the décor as she stepped inside. The room was vast and heavily decorated with armor, paintings, furniture, and tapestries of the Belladonna emblem, all tied together by a massive bed with a canopy of deep purple silk. The plant motif of Ghira's office carried over into their living quarters, and several potted palms rested near the doorways to the room itself and attached bathroom. Kali was busying herself with inspecting one of the plants on the far side of the room, and remained fixated on her work with the plant as she replied.

"…I'll get over it, honey. I just didn't expect things to end up like this."

"With Dad getting involved again, you mean," Blake stated plainly as she began to walk forward. She folded her arms beneath her chest as she strode across the room, her ears wilting in much the same way that her mother's refused to stand.

"Exactly that." Kali fell silent and kept her back turned as Blake approached and came to a stop.

"He doesn't have to. Once we find a way to protect Haven Academy from the White Fang, I… I would be willing to take over. If we can't deal with Sienna and Adam, we could form a splinter group of our own, with supports. Maybe start a counter-revolution from inside…?"

Kali turned with a weary sigh. Somehow, the usual bags under her eyes looked heavier than ever, and Blake was taken aback by the fact that her mother looked _old_ to her, for once.

"My little girl… I don't think you understand what being the leader of such a thing really means. Ghira is willing to step back in solely to protect you from that nightmare, and as much as I want to stop him, I won't, if it means saving you. You have so much _life_ left. So much drive. I don't want to see you worn down in the same way that your father and I were, while running the White Fang. It drains your soul and crushes your spirit, even _if_ you truly believe you have something to fight for. Leadership isn't easy, especially when you're not sure of the path ahead," Kali finished.

"None of this is _easy_ , Mom. Watching Beacon fall wasn't easy, and neither was… leaving my friends behind," Blake said as she trailed off.

"All the more reason to let your father take care of things, after Haven. Your team needs you, Blake, as much as you might disagree."

"You don't know what happened to my team, Mom," Blake said with a look of disgust. "They suffered because of me. One of my…" Blake shivered, and closed her eyes. "…one of my closest friends lost her arm to Adam, because she was trying to protect me. After seeing that, I couldn't… I just _couldn't_ stay. I had to come home, to see you, and…" Blake's lip quivered, and Kali brought her hands up to cup her daughter's cheeks.

"Blake. You can't take the blame for the actions of others, whether it's Adam, or your friend. They both made a choice. Yes, the choices were made because you were there, but there _were_ other options. All you can do now is offer your support, instead of running away. Look at Sun. Look at how put together and cheerful he is… and think about how quickly he shattered, earlier today. I'm assuming you went and fixed that, in your own way?"

Blake couldn't help herself as a small smile crept across her features. "…I did, yes. He's feeling better."

"Now, think about how much your _other_ friends could benefit from seeing you again. It's your responsibility to them to try your best to help. Let Sun assist you with rebuilding those bridges," Kali advised as she let her grip fall.

"I will. I… think you might be right. Running away probably only worsened things…" Blake sighed.

"There's no 'probably' about it. It absolutely did, but you can make up for it," Kali advised with a smile. "All in due time. For now, we have a plan, and we need your head in the game. Don't worry about me. I'll… find my fighting spirit again."

" _Kali?_ " came a call through the walls, as Blake and Kali's ears both twitched up at the same time. Moments later, Ghira pushed his way through the bedroom door and moved to close the distance to his family. "There you are. I… have a request. An odd one."

Suddenly, Kali's face broke out into a dirty smirk as she straightened her stance and added her usual sultry pep back into her tone. " _Ghira_ , not in front of our daughter," she teased. Ghira's face became flushed as he shook his head.

" _Mom!_ "

"Oh, relax. I'm only joking," Kali let on as she trailed her hand into Ghira's chest hair. "What is it?"

Ghira spared Blake a look, before fixing his gaze on his wife. "While I do believe that our daughter and Sun can handle it with a little creativity… I think it might be best if you accompany them in confronting this Cinnamon woman. Just… on standby, as it were. You understand."

"Honestly, I'm all for that," Blake added. Her parents looked at her with surprise, as she clarified. "Sun's in decent shape, but… he's still injured, and I know he's not exactly at his best right now. I was planning on telling him to stand watch, while I went in."

"And you know he'll adamantly refuse to let you do so," Kali replied. Blake merely nodded. "If I go and keep him company, there's a decent chance that he'll reconsider. Alright. Count me in," Kali said with a smirk.

Ghira reached out and rubbed Kali's shoulder with a confident smile. "I knew I could count on you. It's been a long time since you've been out in the field. Will you be alright?"

"Of _course_ she'll be alright, Dad," Blake cut in. "Mom's amazing."

"That she is," Ghira agreed.

"Oh, stop trying to butter me up. I've already made my decision." Kali moved past the pair and knelt in front of the bed, before beginning to fish around beneath it. She pulled out a small silver box inlaid with the Belladonna emblem, and flipped the lid open with a smile.

"Hello, my pretties. Time to see some action, once again."

* * *

Sun moved the leaves aside as he leaned forward, peering out of the bush at the three story home on the edge of the village. A wispy trail of smoke was rising from the chimney atop the uneven roof, coming from the only room that made up the 'third floor' on the far side of the structure.

"This is the place, I guess?" Sun mused. Blake put a hand upon his shoulder as she leaned over him and narrowed her eyes, taking in the layout of the wooden building.

"Seems like it."

"Well, she's got good taste," Kali added as she leaned against Sun's other shoulder. "It's a cute little place."

"Hardly little, considering some of the other houses around here," Blake replied.

"Doesn't matter. We've gotta sweep as much as we can, without getting caught… and figure out a way to take her down if we do," Sun stated.

" _When_ we do," Blake stated pessimistically. "If she's Adam's right hand, I doubt she's stupid. She probably has security set up, especially if we catch her away from home. She'll show up, and we need to get her back to the mansion for interrogation. This is going to be quite an undertaking."

"Well, let's hope not. Time to move in?" Sun asked.

Kali gripped Sun's shoulder, as Blake gave him a look. "For me, yes. _You_ are staying outside, and keeping an ear out for any commotion."

Sun's eyes widened as he tried to resist. "Blake, I'm not letting you go in there alone! At least take Kali with you!"

"And what if we see her outside? You're not being left alone, Sun. Not with injuries," Kali said with a tone of finality. "You and I are on standby, while Blake enters and finds whatever she can in the way of evidence."

" _Blake_ …" Sun whined, only to be silenced with a passionate kiss. Kali whistled.

" _Nice_."

Blake rolled her eyes as she pulled away, and pressed her forehead against Sun's. " _Trust_ me, Sun. Infiltration was my specialty, in the White Fang. I'll be in and out before she even notices."

"I hope you're right. Good luck, Blake. We'll move in closer and listen for any signs in case you need help," Sun said.

Blake nodded, and exited the bush with a sharp exhale. She kept her stance low as she darted across the grass, and to the side wall of the house. As she pressed her back against the wood, she closed her eyes and strained her ears to pick up on any noises from within the abode.

The crackling of a fireplace reached her ears as Blake focused, and she took a few calming breaths while she fixated upon the pleasant sound. She slowed her breathing and remained still as she waited for something, _anything_ else to come, but heard nothing at all. Slowly, she turned and rose from her crouched position to peer into a nearby window.

The glass gave a decent view of a living area that looked relatively disheveled, and nothing at all like the one in the Belladonna manor. A single wooden chair was placed near an off-center table made of worn wood and sitting upon a deep red circular area rug. Across from the chair was a simple cabinet with a holographic television; the device was on, but muted as a reporter spoke to no one in particular in a silent voice. The space was topped off by a slowly whirling ceiling fan with an attached light bulb that rocked back and forth gently as it turned, and a dim, orange glow from the fireplace that Blake had heard at the far side of the room.

"…cozy, I guess…" Blake whispered to herself. She looked over her shoulder, and waved for Sun and Kali to join her. Both of them kept low as they followed Blake's path up to the structure, and remained silent as she worked her way around the perimeter and to the front door.

Blake sucked in a breath as she braced her back to the wooden wall and reached a hand outward to turn the doorknob. To her surprise, it was unlocked, and the door slowly slid open with a gentle push. Something about the ease of entry unnerved Blake even further, and she felt a shiver run up her spine as the door made a soft _creak_.

"Hey."

Blake's heart shot up to her throat as Sun whispered from her side, and she reflexively punched him in the arm as hard as she could.

" _Ow!_ Watch it!"

" _Sun!_ What are you doing!?" Blake hissed through grit teeth.

Sun rubbed at his still bandaged arm, and grimaced. "I just… I can't let you do this alone. Kali's gonna watch from outside, while we go in. I'm sorry, b-"

Blake pushed a finger into his lips with a stern look. " _Fine_. I'm not arguing with you right now, as much as I want to. Just stay quiet, and follow my lead. You see her, you point her out." Sun nodded, and she transitioned to face the door before quietly pushing her way through.

The acrid smell of gunpowder was overwhelming as Blake stepped into the entryway, and she brought a hand up to cover her nose and mouth as she fought back the urge to cough hard. Sun mirrored her actions as he followed her in, and closed the door behind them. Blake began to move forward with careful steps, and worked her way into the living room to look around.

"Gloves," Sun stated in a low tone.

" _What?_ " Blake asked as she paused, her ears automatically flicking toward Sun.

"On the chair. They look like the kind of gloves you wear while welding, or metalworking, right?" Sun walked slowly toward the chair and picked up one of the aforementioned items. He turned it over in his hands, and brought it up to his nose for a sniff. " _Definitely_ working with metal, or grease or something."

Blake nodded, and took another step forward. The floorboards creaked and she felt her breathing hitch as she prayed that the crackling fire was enough to mask the noise. Sun froze, and the pair listened as no response came from within the house.

Sun was the first to move as he made his way to the far side of the room, near the fireplace. He peeked his head through a nearby doorway, and looked back at Blake. "Kitchen," he whispered, before moving to the foot of a flight of stairs. "I'll keep an eye on these. Look around, see if anything is out of place or suspicious."

Blake nodded, and began to carefully inspect the features of the room. The off-center table caught her attention, and she knelt down to inspect the central support. The wood was notched and worn, and several indents in the carpet suggested that it had been relocated several times.

"Hm," Blake mused to herself as she got down on her hands and knees and went over the carpet with a critical eye. She ran her hand along the fringe and found the tassels in disarray, with a few compressed in odd places. As she traced the edge of the woven material, she felt her hand pass over a groove in the wood, and flipped the carpet back with a triumphant smirk. "Trapdoor," she whispered.

Sun shot her an encouraging grin. "Way to go. Is it open?"

"I'll have to move the table. It… might make some noise," Blake said with unease.

"Well, we came here expecting a fight. Might as well, I guess," Sun replied with a shrug. He turned to face Blake completely, with his back toward the staircase.

"Here goes literally everything," Blake quipped as she began to push the table across the floor, rumpling the carpet further. A loud scraping rang out through the room and echoed off the walls, and Blake felt the small hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she cringed. "I _really_ hope she's not home…"

"Or anywhere in Kuo Kuana, after that," Sun replied. Blake knelt down and finished moving the carpet off the trapdoor, before pulling the latch upward and flipping it back to reveal a large square hole, leading to a dark staircase. "Want me here, or standing guard?"

Blake mulled over her options, and narrowed her eyes as she peered into the hidden basement. "Watch the perimeter of the room, I guess. I'll yell if I see her."

"Good luck, Blake." Sun rolled his shoulders as he began a slow, methodical patrol. Blake blew him a kiss, and began to walk down the stairs. Sun made an exaggerated motion to 'catch' the gesture, and Blake rolled her eyes as he disappeared from her view.

The smell of gunpowder intensified as Blake continued to descend, and she pulled the collar of her shirt over her mouth and nose to try to filter the air. She squinted as she made a slow, purposeful path forward into a large room, and held back a cough as the bitter taste of the air continued to assault her. Blake drew Gambol Shroud with her free hand, and left the sheath on her back as she made her way into the room proper.

Concrete walls formed a sizeable cubic space beneath the upper floor, and a table of the same material stretched almost from wall to wall in its center. Various tools for metalworking were attached to the ceiling, with the upper layer of concrete mostly obscured by a web of wires, plugs, and hanging lights. Blake decided to leave the room dark as she stepped over an empty metal bowl-shaped shell large enough to be used as a hat.

Carefully, she ran her fingers along the edge of the table, and pulled them upward to reveal her digits coated in a layer of fine powder. She brought her hand upward and took a whiff, only to recoil at the unfamiliar scent.

"Some kind of explosive…?" she mused to herself quietly as she leaned over the table to inspect it more closely. Odd piles of wires and discarded plastic wrapping lay scattered upon the surface, and Blake carefully selected a small collection of wires to stuff into her pocket.

"She was building _something_ down here, and from the smell, it seems like a lot of it," Blake whispered. Almost as if in reply, the muffled sound of voices upstairs caused her ears to shoot straight upward. " _Shit!_ "

Without hesitation, Blake whirled and began to sprint up the steps. She removed the bladed sheath from her back and grasped it tightly in her other hand as she reached the top of the staircase, only to find Sun facing her with another faunus stood behind him.

"Well, well, _well_ ," the figure began from her place behind Sun. A dark-skinned hand rested atop his shoulder, and Sun looked incredibly uneasy as he remained still. "The Belladonna daughter. Imagine finding such an important figure in my home, without even having to invite her," she mused.

Blake bared her teeth as she morphed Gambol Shroud into its pistol form and aimed the barrel just over Sun's shoulder. "Let go of him _right now_ , or I _will_ open fire!" she hissed.

" _Whoa_ , now," the figure replied in a husky tone, not far removed from Kali's. "There's no need to be rash. Let's just talk, hm?"

The faunus stepped around Sun to stand beside him in the light, while keeping her hand on his shoulder. She was a muscular woman who stood taller than Sun by about a head, and wore an outfit consisting of a long white sarong with oblong orange splashes over a pair of matching shorts that barely reached her thighs. Her upper body was covered only by a simple orange top held up by crossing black straps, and her hair was kept in short white dreads, with a single orange lock in the back. The final telltale sign that Ilia had warned of consisted of a row of four long, dangerous looking webbed spines jutting outward from the triceps on each of her arms.

"Blake," Sun said with obvious tension in his voice. "She just wants to talk, and know what's going on."

"Bullshit," Blake spat as she took a step forward. The woman's expression turned into a frown, and she held up a finger.

" _Don't_ ," she warned, before bringing the hand back to her chest. "My name is Cinnamon Shoal. I know _you_ , but who are _you?_ " Cinnamon asked as she tapped her index finger on Sun's shoulder.

"Don't tell her anyth-"

"Sun. Sun Wukong. A friend of Blake's," he answered as Blake shot him a venomous glare.

"See? This can be easy," Cinnamon said as she stepped in closer to Sun, "or this can be _difficult_ ," she stressed, as she squeezed his shoulder in a tight grip. Sun cringed, but remained silent bar sucking in a breath.

"If this can be easy, then let go of him," Blake commanded as she remembered Ilia's warning.

"Hm… _no_ ," she countered as she gracefully slipped back behind Sun, to peer at Blake from over his shoulder. "The pair of you broke into _my_ home, so we play by _my_ rules. I'd like an explanation, before I let him go."

Sun closed his eyes as he began to speak, doing his best to keep his tone calm. "We received an anonymous tip that you were a member of the White Fang, and that there was suspicious activity going on inside this house. We were both at Beacon, when it was brought down. We _know_ what the White Fang does behind the front they put on, here. We came here looking for evidence of anything illegal, or any plot against Kuo Kuana. We've already been threatened by one of your number just yesterday."

"So I've heard," Cinnamon said with a weary sigh. "Rest assured, _I_ had nothing to do with that. That girl's name is Ilia Amitola, and ambushing the pair of you was _her_ idea. Her men complained to me about it this morning."

Blake's expression turned furious as she cracked her neck. "So you're outright admitting you're with the White Fang?"

"I am, yes. So were you," Cinnamon offered. Blake growled, and Cinnamon rested an elbow atop Sun's shoulder while cupping her chin with a hand. "We're not the mustache-twirling types, and you should already know that. Sure, extreme measures have been implemented lately, but the humans in power need to wake up, and Adam is getting those exact results for us. I'm an 'ends justify the means' kind of woman, but lucky for both of you, _I_ won't kill other faunus, as a general rule."

"But you're complicit in letting Adam slaughter our kind," Blake spat.

"When and where it's necessary, yes. You of _all_ people should know that he can't always be talked down, so I stopped trying. So did you, unless I'm mistaken. He runs wild when he wants to, and I reel him back in after he's had his little hissy fits. I'm not about to try to talk you down from yours, either."

"Uh, ladies?" Sun interjected. "I'm really not loving this whole 'being an armrest' thing, so could we maybe just all sit around and talk this out, if we're not going to fight?"

"Well, your girlfriend is _still_ pointing a gun at me, for one, and this is absolutely going to end in a fight, I can tell you that right now," Cinnamon replied in a bored tone.

Sun tensed at the words. "You told me you wouldn't hurt her, before she came upstairs."

Cinnamon chuckled as she slipped her elbow from Sun's shoulder, and kept her other hand on the opposite side. "Oh, I won't… but _you_ will. Let's see what you can do, little man."

Sun immediately knew that something was wrong as Cinnamon tightened her grip upon his shoulder. An odd, electric sensation pulsed across his entire body as his aura flared outward, and he felt himself being drained of the precious resource as his semblance triggered without his consent. He watched in horror as two familiar, sparkling golden projections of himself rushed from his body and began to close the distance between himself and Blake.

"Blake, look out!" he tried to warn, but found himself unable to move as one of his clones leapt into the air and the other spun in place, building momentum as both threw out kicks at different levels.

Blake's eyes widened as she reacted with catlike reflexes, throwing her sheath-bearing arm up above her head to block the flying kick as she pushed the flat of her blade outward to deflect the grounded clone, barely catching both in time. The airborne double of Sun pushed off the sheath and flipped down to the ground, as the other recoiled and dropped back into a combat stance.

"Sun, what the hell!?" she yelled in frustration.

"It's not me, it's…!" he tried to reply, as Cinnamon snaked her other arm over his shoulder and covered his mouth with her hand.

"That's _enough_ out of you, kid," she warned as a third copy erupted from his chest and charged forward.

Blake gripped the ribbon at the hilt of her weapon and slung it outward to sweep the room, and the clones ducked and jumped accordingly to avoid the whirling metal. With the precious seconds she had bought, Blake charged straight for Sun, only for Cinnamon to pull him with her as she skirted along the edges of the room. Sun elbowed her in the stomach, only to earn a laugh for his efforts.

"Oh, _please_. You think that's going to get me to let go? Do your worst."

Blake shifted her weapon into blade mode as Cinnamon kicked the chair over and into her path. Blake stumbled just long enough for one of Sun's copies to grab her from behind, and she twisted and wriggled before driving the blade into its stomach, causing the golden apparition to dissipate immediately.

"Good show!" Cinnamon complimented with an enthusiastic grin. Yet another double jumped forward from Sun as his aura flickered, and fizzled out. Sun had begun to sweat in her grasp, and trembled slightly as all three of his copies seemed to disappear into thin air. "…out of juice already? Well that's just plain disappointing."

"Let him _go_ ," Blake threatened as she leveled her blade at Cinnamon, tracking her while she continued to move her way around the room.

"I'd rather not, but if you insist… then slide your weapon across the floor, and turn around. Adam wants you alive, and I'd rather not inflict any unnecessary pain on either of you. I do mean that, regardless of whether or not you believe me. Of course, if you refuse…" she mused, as she slid her hand from Sun's mouth, only to curl her arm and level her spines at his stomach. "Do you know what lionfish venom does, Blake?"

Blake grit her teeth as Sun shook his head. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and he looked absolutely exhausted from having his aura sapped away so quickly.

"Blake, don't. I'll be fine. It's not deadly, it just _sucks_."

Cinnamon smiled as she released Sun's shoulder and gently knocked a balled fist against the side of his head. "He's right, actually. Smart, hot, willing to take excruciating pain for ya… I'd say you've got yourself a keeper, Belladonna. Maybe leaving the Fang was a good move."

" _Shut up!_ " Blake screamed as her outstretched hand began to shake, rattling Gambol Shroud. "Just shut up! This isn't a game!"

Cinnamon rolled her eyes and huffed at the statement as she brushed the tip of a spine against Sun's abs. "No, it isn't. You found nothing conclusive, nor would you if you searched this entire house. I'm not _stupid_ , Blake, and anything that would've been explicitly useful to you has long since been moved out of here. If you want to start a crusade, you're going to have to get smarter. Work harder. _Think_ about who you can trust, and who you think you can take on."

Slowly, Blake sheathed her weapon and held it outward as she looked past Cinnamon and Sun, to the window. She closed her eyes and calmly placed the weapon on the floor, before kicking it over to Cinnamon. " _Fine_. Now, let him go, and I'll come with you."

"Blake!" Sun yelled in disbelief. "What are you d-"

The sound of shattering glass and the impact of a flying body interrupted Sun as he and Cinnamon were knocked forward. Shards rained down into the living room as the pair fell to the floor, and Sun felt glass fragments pierce into his arms and chest as he hit the wood. He immediately scrambled away from Cinnamon as she braced a hand into the floor and whirled to slide backward. Her lip twitched as she stood straight once again, and stared down her set of three opponents.

Kali Belladonna stood in the room looking furious as she aimed a pair of customized gold and silver lugers at Cinnamon. Deep purple smoke began to swirl around her body as two ethereal arms of a matching color extended up and outward from her shoulders. A ghostly severed effigy of her own head dangled ominously from the hand on her second right arm, while the other extra appendage held a transparent, golden urn that seemed to radiate flickering specks of purple light.

"Stay _away_ from them," she hissed.

Cinnamon grinned as she stood straight and dusted off her hands. "Well, this hardly seems fair… but that's what I'm used to. Let's rumble."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Cinnamon Shoal's design can be found at (imgur) /a/t29s5ED. Just combine the two, and voila- lionfish faunus. Both the headshot and full body portrait were done by Squeefox on Twitter, who is an incredible artist.

Time for things to heat up on Thursday, the 7th.

 **-RD**


	22. Fickle Facade

Cinnamon turned toward Blake and made a dash for her as Kali opened fire. Blake began to backpedal as Sun rose from the floor and hissed. His black shirt was torn in several places from the invading shards of glass, and his palms were bloody. Tiny fragments of the window seemed to sparkle within his hands from the firelight, and he found even closing his fingers to be painful as he reached for his weapon.

"Blake, I've got you!" he shouted as he ran to meet her. She turned to face him with a look of horror as she activated her semblance, blinking out of the way as Cinnamon rolled to take cover from Kali's potshots behind the massive table. She knocked the piece of furniture on its side and hid behind the large, rectangular top.

"Sun, _no!_ You have no aura! We need to leave!" Blake commanded.

Sun stopped and let out a grunt of pain as Blake reached him, while Kali continued to rain bullets on the table. " _Leave?_ Blake, it's three on one, and Kali needs-"

"Mom needs _space_ to fight! We're in her way, and I'm not letting you play hero when you could get seriously hurt," Blake replied with more than a little annoyance.

"Just go, you two! I can handle _her_ ," Kali growled as she holstered a pistol, before bending to pick up Gambol Shroud. She handed the weapon over to Blake as she walked past the pair, keeping the remaining luger aimed at the table as her ghostly arms flexed and twitched behind her.

Sun frowned and heaved a sigh as he eyed the window. "I don't like this. I'll go, alone, and you two can f-"

The hard slap across the face from Blake caught him by surprise, and Sun stopped talking as Blake glared up at him.

"Mom. Needs. _Room_ ," she said through clenched teeth. "I'm not leaving you alone out there, when the White Fang could come running to see what's going on at any minute. Listen to me when I'm doing something for your sake, for _once!_ " Blake finished with a yell. Sun shrank backward slightly at her tone, and he simply nodded as he made his way to the window, with Blake in tow. The two leaped the jagged glass still clinging to the bottom of the sill, and began to run back toward the Belladonna manor.

"About time," Kali muttered to herself as she turned her head to watch them go. With the two teens out of sight, she looked back toward the table and began to reload her pistol. "You're awfully quiet for someone so smug," she called out. No response came from behind the table, and Kali raised her ethereal incense burner high above her head, before jingling it back and forth. Particles of pulsating, purple light raced from the talisman and floated down and around the table to linger in the air behind the wood.

"If you're still there, I'd _highly_ recommend moving," Kali lilted as she drew her other pistol and aimed both at the table. With no further words, she extended the limb holding the severed head, and the effigy opened its mouth in a silent scream.

Kali smirked to herself as brilliant violet lights radiated from behind the table and burst in a flameless, localized explosion of force. Splinters of wood careened through the air as the table was blown apart, leaving nothing but jagged fragments and odd craters of impact in the surface of the wooden floor. She frowned to herself as she found no opponent amongst the wreckage, only for her ears to twitch as she trained her pistols toward the sound of slow clapping from the nearby doorway.

"You Belladonnas _do_ have a flair for the dramatic, don't you?" Cinnamon commented as she appeared from around the corner and leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. Upon her right arm was a bracer mounted with some sort of metal blades folded back toward her elbow, and a bulging metal drum magazine on the inside of her forearm. "Now that it's just us adults, though, I really must ask what this is all about. Your daughter isn't exactly the greatest diplomat."

Cinnamon tossed her arm outward and rotated the bracer to let the mounted metal deflect the stray pistol round that Kali offered in response.

"She doesn't need to be. Your organization comes here, to _my_ village, begins stirring up trouble, assaults _my_ daughter, and you expect us not to respond? Blake and Sun came to collect evidence and capture you for questioning. I won't be so kind." Kali narrowed her eyes as she raised the incense burner once again, and Cinnamon used her shoulder to push off the wall while folding her arms.

" _Wait_." Kali paused, and blew a frustrated breath through her nose. "Firstly, the White Fang isn't _my_ organization- that honor belongs to Sienna, and it once belonged to you and Ghira. Times change, and methods change… but our goal is still the same as yours. Individuals in any group will make their own decisions and sour things, but I'm not the woman you're looking for. As far as I'm concerned, you could walk out of here right now, I'll cut the loss on the table, and we'll call it even."

Cinnamon took a slow step forward, and offered a hand. Kali merely stared down at the limb, before flicking her eyes back upward to meet Cinnamon's.

"We _know_ about Haven Academy. Don't play innocent with me," Kali snarled.

Cinnamon grinned and brought her other hand up to her mouth as she began to laugh. "Oh, you." She narrowed her eyes as her grin grew wider. "No, you _really_ don't."

Kali shook the burner and sent a row of pulsating lights straight out to Cinnamon as her opponent charged forward. The lionfish faunus leaped into the air above the violet points and threw a punch for the golden ornament, only to find her fist passing straight through it as Kali directed the severed head to scream once again. Cinnamon tucked into a roll as she landed and began to circle as more deafening bursts of pure force tore through the room, splintering part of the door frame and shredding the carpet where she had once stood.

"You know, I _did_ at least pay for this home legitimately! Have a little respect?" Cinnamon asked as she dashed in once again, closing the distance while Kali raised her pistols.

"And we run this village legitimately, only for you to try to undermine it from within!" Kali countered as the two impacted each other. Cinnamon grabbed for Kali's wrists as Kali spun her pistols and twisted her arms, wrenching herself free as she struck out with the grip of one of her guns. Cinnamon leaned her shoulder in to take the hit and thrust a knee upwards into Kali's stomach, causing her to stumble backward as Cinnamon flipped back to land on one knee.

"Sounds to me like we've got similar problems, Belladonna." Cinnamon extended the arm encased within the bracer and used the other to support it at the elbow as the metal 'blades' flicked outward to form the frontal part of a crossbow. A whirring noise echoed from her wrist as steel bolts began to fire at high speeds, and Kali twirled to the side to avoid the hail of projectiles by ducking behind the cabinet. A bolt pierced the base of the holographic television and caused the device to switch off with an angry _hiss_.

"Why are you still _talking!?_ " Kali demanded as she flipped her lugers around to hold them properly once again. She sucked in a breath and withdrew her semblance, letting the arms dissipate as she rose to find Cinnamon's crossbow trained on her. Kali raised her pistols in kind, and stared the woman down.

"Like I told your daughter- killing other faunus just isn't my thing. Humans? Couldn't care less. _Our_ kind, though? It breaks my little black heart to have to defend myself from you. I mean that, _really_ ," she replied with a devilish grin.

"Is that so?" Kali asked with a deadpan tone. "So, what, you want to lay down our arms and just talk this out over coffee?"

"If it was up to me, sure. The goal is still equality, Kali. Adam just has a different way of getting there," Cinnamon said as she shifted her weight while keeping her arm-mounted crossbow leveled.

"…fine. You first."

Cinnamon's smile only grew wider. "I don't think so. That sounds to me like a deal a _human_ would make."

"You know, good intentions don't absolve you from the damage you're causing by supporting Sienna… or _Adam_. Which is it, really? From what my daughter's told me, it seems like you serve him more than her, and that's honestly worse," Kali accused.

"Hm," Cinnamon replied while making a show of tilting her head and looking up toward the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought. She brought her gaze back down to Kali, and gave her shoulders a noncommittal shrug. " _Neither_."

"What…?" Kali blinked in surprise, only to flinch and duck as a bullet ricocheted off the cabinet just beside her. She looked past Cinnamon through the shattered window to see five White Fang grunts approaching the house, guns trained on her.

"Waxing philosophical is a _great_ way to stall for time, you know. Silent alarms are a hell of a thing, Belladonna. Look into 'em," Cinnamon offered as she gave Kali a mock salute. "I noticed your extra arms are down. I hope your aura isn't too drained to deal with them."

"Next time we meet, I'll show you a drained aura," Kali threatened as Cinnamon backed up toward the window.

"Lookin' forward to it. 'til then… it's been fun. We'll talk more later." Cinnamon gave a polite wave and hopped out the window as Kali checked her ammunition. Purple flames erupted from her shoulder blades as her ephemeral arms extended up and out once again, holding their implements of destruction.

"I bet you are," Kali stated plainly as two grunts entered through the window, and the remaining three appeared through the front door. Brilliant violet lights manifested close to both locations, and Kali narrowed her eyes as the soldiers raised their weapons, while she raised the severed head.

* * *

Sun once again sat upon a stool in the kitchen, his torn shirt resting in a heap atop the island beside him. Various bottles of rubbing alcohol and herbal extracts stood next to the article of clothing, and a bag full of bandages, gauze, and a few tools took up most of the rest of the surface. Sun didn't dare to speak as he looked at Blake with worry in his eyes and his heart down in his stomach. Blake stood hunched over the sink, gripping the metal rim of the basin with white knuckles and closed eyes as she collected her thoughts. Finally, she inhaled sharply as she looked over her shoulder at him.

"I _told_ you to stay outside."

"Blake, I can't just le-" Sun began, only to cower slightly as Blake whirled and leaned in, inches from his face.

" _Shut up!_ " she demanded, her tone harsh. Sun did as he was told, and he looked off to the side as he mentally prepared himself for the worst.

"I could have handled it. Even if she had caught me in the basement, we had a _plan_. It would've been two fresh fighters, armed and with full aura, against one. I probably could have escaped, and made it _three_ on one, even if Mom can't use her semblance when we're in the way. You let me fight on my own on the rooftop, and today, you choked and potentially cost us more information, or even the ability to subdue her in a best case scenario. What changed? What happened to _trust_ , Sun?" Blake's voice cracked slightly at the last question, and Sun's shoulders slumped as he tried to think of the best approach to explain himself.

"Blake, I know you don't want to hear it, but I'm _sorry_. What changed is… well, we're an item, now…" Sun tried, only to find his excuse collapsing in his mind as soon as he'd made it. Blake was equally unimpressed, and folded her arms across her chest with a huff as she stood straight.

"Yes, we are, but what does that even _mean?_ How does that affect our relationship, other than giving it a label? We've kissed a few times, but that isn't enough to just keep being my shield when I needed a bit of freedom. I thought you were going to work on this. You were making progress, and now it's all suddenly collapsed. I'm _pissed_ , Sun… and I'm hurt, too. I'm tired of showing you affection by cleaning your wounds, watching you get sick, and sitting in bed worrying after you pass out from exhaustion. This has to end, _now_ ," Blake said as she braced a hand against the kitchen island.

"I know," Sun said quickly. "I _am_ trying. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I'm _really_ trying to put myself out there a bit more. I'm just not… good at it."

"No, you're really not. I know it's your weakness, but… look at all the good your _strengths_ have done," Blake insisted as she knelt before him. She took his hands in her own, and gently began to look them over for miniscule glass shards before giving the back of his hand a gentle kiss.

"Look at everything you've drawn out of me, when my entire team tried for over a year to get me to open up. You're…" Blake pulled a face and flattened her ears, seemingly having trouble finding the right words. "… _special_ to me, Sun. I know that sounds lame, and stupid, but I don't know how else to say it. Don't you think you deserve the kind of attention you've given me? I just want to help you, but I can't, if you keep deflecting."

"I _know_ ," Sun insisted. "It just isn't that easy. I can't just lay it all out on the table. The last time I did, I regretted it immediately."

"But why would you regret it with _me?_ What are you so afraid of? Do you honestly think I'm going to judge you, or think you're less of a man, or something stupid like that? Sun, I'm _begging_ you. Let me in. Let me know what's going on in that head of yours, because until I understand, we're going to clash like this every time I need you to just let me do my own thing. I don't want that to drive us apart."

Blake looked down at his hands with a frown as she continued to rub the backs of them. She drew her eyes up to meet Sun's, and he found that they were full of genuine sadness. The sight was too much for him, and he looked down into his lap as he felt a pulse of guilt and nausea course through his body like a sickening wave. He shivered, and began to speak softly as he tried to fight back the urge to break down at the overwhelming combination of the sight of her and his own feelings.

"Blake… I know exactly what changed, and why I've gotten worse about this. Do you… do you _really_ want to know why I have so much trouble being open, and letting you focus on me? I know you said you won't think less of me, and maybe that's true… but you won't look at me the same way, once you know. I don't know if you'll even understand," Sun finished with a worried glance to her. Blake leaned forward and rested a cold hand upon his chest, as she began to make note of where he needed treatment.

"I'll try my best to understand, no matter what it is. We'll get through this, _together_ , the way we're meant to do everything from here on out. Just tell me, Sun. I want the truth," she replied as she reached for a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a pair of tweezers.

"The truth," Sun repeated. "I… _hate_ the truth about myself."

"I feel the same way, Sun… but I love _you_ , and I know you love me. Let that motivate you. This, right here, is the next step in our relationship, and it's one I _need_ you to take. I'm here for you," Blake said reassuringly as she began to get to work on extracting the glass shards.

"Then, I will." Sun paused to take a deep breath, and closed his eyes. "The truth. The truth is…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

…coming out on Sunday, the 10th.

 **-RD**


	23. The Price of Progress

Sun sat on the edge of the porch, hugging his filthy knees as he slouched forward and watched the car take off down the dirt road. Small plumes of dust rose from beneath the tires, obscuring his view of a former friend in the back seat and the unfamiliar man and woman up front. Within seconds, the dust and motion of the car stole the last fleeting glance of the silhouettes from him, and soon after, the car itself had become a small blue dot on the horizon, lost in his view of the city in the distance. Sun sniffed and wrinkled his nose as he stood, his line of sight barely above the worn-down railing around the porch.

"…there goes another one," he admitted to himself in a defeated tone. Sun sniffed again, and pulled at the sleeve of his torn tee shirt to bring it close enough to wipe at his eyes. A large hand came to rest upon his shoulder, and he jumped at the sensation.

"Are you alright, little one?" Sun looked up at the familiar adult- a large, tanned woman in a deep blue dress and a straw hat was staring down at him, concerned. He breathed out dramatically, and pushed her hand off his shoulder with his own.

"Yeah, _yeah_. I'm cool. I'm… used to it," he said, sounding bitter. Sun frowned, and cast his eyes down to the uneven wooden surface of the porch. He moved his right foot backward and began to drive the toe of his worn sneaker against a nail sticking up from the boards to occupy himself.

"Sunny, that isn't the right attitude to have. One day, it'll be _you_ in the back seat of a car, leaving me and all of the other children beh-"

"You _always_ say that, Mrs. H!" Sun interrupted, his face scrunched up in a mask of anger. "Every single time a kid gets taken to a new home, you tell me I'm next. You say that someone's gonna come and want me. _No one_ wants me!" He punctuated the statement by kicking the bent nail as hard as he could, and hissing as he felt the metal impact his foot with a painful twinge.

"You stop that right now," the much taller woman commanded as she bent down to place both of her hands on Sun's shoulders. "Did you hurt yourself?"

" _No!_ " Sun lied as he tried and failed to fight back streams of tears. His toes throbbed with pain, and he mentally cursed himself for his outburst as his caretaker brought gentle fingers up under his chin. He whipped his head to the side to avoid her touch, and balled his fists.

" _Sun_ , I don't think you're being honest with me."

"And I don't think _you're_ being honest with _me!_ " he countered as he turned his head back to face her. Sun bared his teeth and stomped hard on the surface of the porch. "It's because of my tail, isn't it? All of the kids with animal stuff are still here! In the past four years, _one_ got taken to a new home!"

"No, child, it isn't…"

" _It is!_ " Sun insisted. "They hate me! Every time a mom and dad come walk through, they ignore us. They go right for the _normal_ kids, and we're all left begging and hoping for something that just isn't gonna happen."

"Sunny, I'm sorry, but some people just don't understand…"

"I don't care! It's not fair!" he yelled. "It isn't fair…" he repeated with a small whimper as hot tears began to stream down his cheeks.

The woman started to lightly rub his shoulders as he sobbed, the collar of his shirt darkening as the tears made their way into the fabric. "No, Sunny. It isn't…"

"So fix it!" he pleaded in a squeaky voice as his chest and shoulders heaved. "Please fix it…"

Sun closed his eyes as the adult sank to her knees, and pulled him into a tight hug. "You know I would if I could. I promise you, one day, you'll get out of here. Someone is going to see you for who you really are, Sun."

"Do you _really_ promise?" Sun asked as he returned the hug. He rested his head upon her shoulder as he tried to reach his skinny, frail arms around her waist, only to find that they weren't quite long enough to manage the task.

"I do," she said with a nod.

* * *

Sun glowered as he looked out the window once again. Most of the other children were playing with a ball outside in the grass, laughing and screaming as they kicked the object back and forth into makeshift goals. He shook his head as he watched from atop the bed, thinking to himself how pointless it all was. Besides, he wouldn't have been _allowed_ to play with them, even if he'd wanted to- they all knew that he was too old, and too skilled for any of the smaller children to enjoy his company in games like that anymore. They always complained that it wasn't _fair_.

A dull _thud_ rang out in the empty room as Sun punched the bedpost. The wooden spire rattled against his fist, and he shook out his hand as he watched the accent vibrate momentarily before falling still once again. He looked around at the other empty beds, none of which he could fit in anymore, before pushing himself off the mattress and beginning to walk.

Sun spared one more glance out the window, and watched as one of his younger friends managed to score a goal. He shook his head again and drew the curtains, muttering curses to himself as he turned to put the glass behind himself. With an annoyed growl, he walked toward a small plastic table, and looked over the various papercraft projects that his smaller companions had been working on. A blue origami swan rested on the table, next to a shoddily made paper recreation of the foster home that could barely stand on its own. He considered ripping them both apart in a momentary pulse of rage, but thought better of it as he found what he was looking for.

A long pair of scissors with red plastic handles rested atop a few sheets of paper, half-covered with glue. Sun picked up the tool and turned it over several times, inspecting the edges of the blades. He took a deep breath, and began to walk to the attached bathroom.

Sun flicked the lights on as he entered, and looked himself over in the mirror by the dim light of the one functioning bulb that remained between the other two above the sink. He looked over his shirtless chest, and the abs that had started to bulge out thanks to his efforts at self-improvement. His arms were large and bulky with muscle, and he had outpaced even the few older boys at the home in physique. Sun hissed in anger as he remembered that none of it had done him any good.

No matter how attractive he tried to make himself, he was still _there_.

Sun grumbled to himself and turned to close the door, before dropping his frayed denim shorts to the floor. He slid his boxers down to his ankles and kicked them away before hopping up onto the counter and turning sideways, to give himself a view of his backside. A bead of sweat rolled down the flesh of his back from his hairline, and he shivered at the sensation of the sudden cool liquid trailing down toward his rear. He sucked in a deep breath, and wrapped his right arm around his waist to level the blades of the scissors at the base of his tail.

"Okay… just a little bit of pain, and I'll be normal," he said to himself as he closed his eyes. "It'll hurt for like an hour, at most. I-it can't hurt forever," he reasoned in a shaky voice. As he opened his eyes and looked into the glass, he found his hand trembling wildly as he tried his best to guide the open metal points around his fuzzy yellow tail. Sun rocked slightly on the counter as the cool steel pressed up against the flesh of his lower back, and he swallowed hard.

The scissors seemed to move of their own accord as he pushed the vertex of the blades up against the short fur at the base of his tail, and felt the icy sensation creep into the flesh beneath. Sun licked his lips and found the surfaces very dry as he took several deep breaths, before pulling his arm away and setting the scissors onto the counter. He exhaled sharply and shook out his hands as more sweat started to work its way downward to his neck.

"Come _on_ , it's gonna be worth it. This has to do it," he whispered. Sun looked around the room and grabbed a dish towel from a free-standing rack on the counter. He rolled it into a long cylinder, and stuffed the fabric into his mouth before biting down. Sun drew in several breaths from his nose and grabbed the scissors again before bringing them around to the base of his tail. Before he could lose his nerve, he began to press the handles together, and his eyes widened as he felt the metal tear into the sensitive limb.

Sun made a pained noise and screamed into the towel as he stopped cutting, his hand shaking as he felt warm blood flow from his tail and begin to coat his hand. He slammed his eyes shut and forced himself to press the handles closer together as dots of color swam through his otherwise darkened vision. Though his mind screamed for him to stop, he willed himself to cut more, and the urge to vomit became overwhelming as he made it near the halfway point.

All at once, the combination of nausea, pain, and panic became too much, and Sun spit out the rolled-up towel. He screamed in anguish and threw the scissors as hard as he could into the wall as he scrambled backward and tumbled from the countertop. Sun impacted the floor hard, smearing blood along the tile floor as he scrambled toward the shower. He could feel the base of his tail bending unnaturally as he moved, and watched in horror as he left a long trail of deep crimson from the sink all the way to the shower door. He clawed at the metal bar on the outside of the glass and pulled himself up, before slipping inside.

Sun slammed the glass closed and brought his hands around to his tail. Simply touching the appendage caused pain to shoot up through his spine, and he whimpered aloud as he felt blood oozing from the half-finished cut.

"Shit! _Shit!_ " he cursed as he pressed the partially-severed base of the tail back into the space above his rear. He held the tail as close to himself as he could while he turned on the water to attempt to chase away the streaming red liquid pooling on the white floor of the shower. Sun began to cry as he stepped repeatedly to try to avoid the rivers of blood with little success, while a knock came at the bathroom door.

 _"Sunny?"_ came the call through the wood. " _What's all that noise?"_

Sun rested his forehead against the wall of the shower, and faced himself away from the door as his entire body quaked with sobs. He opened his mouth to reply, but found only shuddering breaths and a throaty squeak. Sun cleared his throat and felt his entire neck fill with the threat of hot, rushing sickness as he began to yell.

" _H-help!_ I… I need help!"

The bathroom door flew open as the matron stepped into the bathroom, only to immediately step back as she caught sight of the large bloodstains covering the floor. She shrieked in terror, and her hands flew up to cover her mouth as she found Sun cowering behind the glass of the shower door.

" _Gods!_ What did you _do!?_ " Mrs. H rushed over and threw back the shower door. Sun refused to look up at her as he pressed into the wall, trying his best to disappear. " _What did you do!?"_

* * *

Sun sat on the edge of the porch, one leg dangling over the side and nearly touching the grass below. He kept the other curled beneath himself as he looked out over the road with a smile, and waved enthusiastically as he watched another car disappear from the driveway of the foster home.

"You know, only a few years ago, you would've had a fit and stormed up to your room, Sunny," came a familiar voice from the doorway of the house. Sun rolled his eyes and stood into a stretch, letting his tee shirt rise to reveal his toned abs in the morning sunlight. He towered over the freshly-painted railing around the perimeter of the porch, and towered over the speaker, as well.

"Yeah, yeah. Things change, Mrs. H," Sun said with a smile as he stooped to pick up the paint can and brush.

"They certainly do. That being said, I still believe you're going to get out of here, and soon. I'm… sorry it's taken so long," she apologized as she approached Sun. She wore a black dress and a familiar straw hat, along with a pair of sunglasses. Sun merely shrugged.

"Honestly? I'm just happy that these kids are getting what they need. I get the feeling my ship has sailed, but… you need help around here, don't you? Maybe it's better that I stay."

"Don't say that. You deserve a family. I can't think of a single child who deserves love more than you do, Sunny," Mrs. H said with a smile.

"Well hey, we don't always get what we deserve. That's just life, right?" Sun asked plainly. Mrs. H only nodded, and sighed.

"When did you get so mature?" she replied as she moved to sit on a stool and look out over the grounds.

"It took some doing," Sun said. "Outside walls are gonna be white, right?"

"Yes. White. Why don't you go and get some rest, before starting to paint? You already did the entire railing just today. At the very least, go and get some of the young ones to help you."

Sun shrugged, and dipped the brush into the paint can. "…nah. Helping out is what I'm good at, right? Let the little guys play. Seeing them happy makes me happy, and working keeps my mind off other things. Idle hands, and all that," Sun said with a grin.

Mrs. H shook her head as she looked over her shoulder and watched Sun begin to paint the wall.

"Never change, Sunny. Never change…"

* * *

Blake continued to stare at the floor as Sun finished his story. Her entire body felt numb with guilt, and she couldn't recall another time where she had felt so horrible for someone else. With a deep breath, she looked up at Sun, only to find him hunched over with his face in his hands. His arms and chest had been fully cleaned of glass and bandaged as he had talked, but somehow, he looked worse than when Blake had started.

"…and I guess… I guess I never _did_ change, huh?"

Sun tensed as he felt Blake's hand touch his shoulder while her boots clicked upon the floor of the kitchen. After making her way behind him, she silently trailed her hand downward to the small of his back, and earned a shiver for her efforts.

"Blake?" he asked in a defeated voice.

"…stay still," Blake told him softly. Sun didn't argue as Blake trailed her hand into the back of his shorts, and down inside of his boxers. He turned his head slightly, but remained silent as she gently ran her fingers along the base of his tail.

There, on the right side of the appendage, was an ugly bulge of scar tissue beneath the sunny, yellow fur. Blake ran the hardened flesh between her fingers and rubbed her thumb over the lump. Her heart began to feel heavier as she moved her hand up and to the small of his back once again, and she wrapped him in a silent, tight embrace from behind.

"Blake, I'm sorry. I just didn't want to upset you," Sun said as he looked back at her.

"…the only thing upsetting me right now is that we've spent so much time together, and I didn't know. I had no idea that you had these feelings. Let me help you. _Please_ ," she begged.

Slowly, Sun used his hands to shift her grip enough to allow him to turn on the stool. He extended his arms and returned the embrace as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "I don't know if you can."

"I want to try, at least," Blake sniffed. "And you're wrong. You _did_ change. Who you are now, and who you were when you left… that's who you needed to become. I think… I think _that's_ what she meant."

"I know. It still doesn't feel great to think about," Sun admitted.

"Nothing feels great right now… but we can work to fix that." Blake let her arms fall as she trailed her right hand down to cup Sun's left.

"Is he alright?" Kali's voice came from the doorway to the kitchen, and Blake turned her head to face her.

"Yeah, Mom. He's fine," Blake replied. She lifted Sun's hand to her lips and gave it a peck, before leaning in to whisper. "Meet me upstairs. I'm going to check in with Mom, and then… you and I are going to talk."

"…okay," Sun said as he stood from the stool. He gave Blake a final hug and disappeared from the room. Blake watched him go, before turning to face her mother and crossing her arms.

"…I'll make this quick, honey. He needs you," Kali stated plainly.

"I know. How much did you hear?" Blake asked as her ears began to droop.

"Nothing. I just came in," Kali said as she moved to sit upon the stool. She raised a hand to brush at the moisture gathering under Blake's eyes, and smirked. "But I can see that he's hurting horribly, inside, and it's tearing you apart because you're madly in love with him. It's written all over your face."

For once, Blake felt no need to protest. "…yeah. Maybe I am."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I posted this tonight instead of tomorrow morning, because my laptop is starting to have issues, and I'm somewhat worried that it may not cooperate if I wait until tomorrow.

A few quick hits:

·The full details of Kali's semblance are basically using the incense burner to command focal points of energy, which the head detonates. If you've ever played Dead Space, picture the Force Gun. That's more or less the result- a giant pulse of pressure that wrecks whatever happens to be in the area.

·Going beyond volume 5: Let's just say that I have a feeling that we may not reach the end by Chapter 40. Shocking, I know.

·It's good to know that the growth of both Sun and Blake as characters is getting through, because it is _definitely_ a slow burn. If Blake is 19 in Volume 6, I'd say she's 18 here, and Sun is 19 by a few months. They're both in the middle of their confusing later teenage years, and trying to figure themselves and each other out. Expect some progress in their relationship next chapter… and maybe progress in another relationship, as well.

-Finally, if my laptop _does_ explode, literally or figuratively, Chapter 24 is already written and waiting in the doc manager, so it will be on time. I'll do my best to keep to the schedule beyond that, and figure something out if this thing finally does die.

Next update on Wednesday, the 13th.

 **-RD**


	24. Teenagers

Sun laid back atop the sheets with his hands behind his head, thinking. He kept his eyes closed and focused on breathing slowly to combat the ache in his arms and chest, and found that he was having a hard time maintaining concentration on any one thought. Memories of the foster home, Blake's disappointed, angry, horrified, and depressed faces as he told his tale, and thoughts of how he had nearly caused a disaster at Cinnamon's home swirled through his mind in a confusing, uncomfortable mix. He tried desperately to render his mind blank and fixate on the blackness of his eyelids, but ended up unable to do so as he heard the sound of the sliding door to the room shifting open, and then closed.

Several silent moments passed before the subtle sounds of bare feet on wood filled his ears. Sun kept his eyes closed and remained still as he waited, and tried to imagine Blake's catlike motions while the mattress sank ever so slightly beneath her weight as she climbed atop it. What felt like an eternity passed as Sun felt the sheets tug and shift while her hands pressed into the bed on either side of him, before one freezing hand planted itself softly upon his chest. The other soon followed and cupped his cheek, and was chased by the sensation of her lips upon his.

Sun slowly lifted his head and removed his hands from behind it to gently trail them down Blake's shoulders and to her sides. His fingertips seemed to tingle as he caressed her skin, and he furrowed his brow in confusion as he felt no fabric in his way. The mystery only deepened as he felt what seemed to be silk rubbing against his chest as Blake climbed atop him, and then cold skin along his abs. Regardless of the conflicting picture that Blake had painted in his mind, he allowed his hands to drift lower, until they ended up gingerly holding Blake's hips as the kiss deepened.

Unable to bear his burning curiosity any longer, Sun leaned his head back into the mattress to break the kiss, and opened his eyes. Blake wore only her bra and pants as she straddled him, her chest pressed into his. Her eyes held a look that he found incredibly unfamiliar, and Sun found that the only way he could describe it was _intense_.

"Mom's fine," Blake whispered as she brushed her hand down from Sun's cheek and around his neck, to rest along his collarbone. "Cinnamon escaped and said a few things that make me wonder, but… we'll get to that later. How did you end up like this, Sun?"

Sun blinked as he considered the question, and kept his hands firmly upon her hips. "I… just wanted to rest for a little while a-"

" _No_ ," Blake stated as she softly laid her index finger upon his lips. She shook her head and brought it downward to peck at his jawline, and then the side of his neck. Sun raised his right hand from her hips and slowly began to move it upward as he kept his eyes on her jet black hair. "Like _this_. Like you are, now. After all you went through in that horrible place, and the anger you felt about being a faunus, and toward human society… how did you turn out so _perfect?_ "

Sun planted his wandering hand on Blake's shoulder blade and began to caress the shifting skin around it as she moved back in to nuzzle and kiss at his jaw. "I'm not perfect, Blake."

"To me, you are. Compared to a few other faunus I know, and considering how they handle dealing with their condition, you're practically a saint," Blake replied. She shifted upward once again to press her forehead to Sun's, and locked eyes with him.

"I don't know. I just… _fought_ , in my own way. I refused to let my anger turn outward, and I guess it just kinda… broke me down, inside. In some ways, every so often, I kinda…" Sun trailed off, and closed his eyes as he tried to force the words out. "…hate myself."

"Then it's a good thing that _I_ love you," Blake stated before locking him into another kiss.

Sun began to feel overwhelmed as he felt Blake's tongue brush across his lips, and he decided to indulge a thought that had lingered in his mind since his first meeting with Kali. With a hesitant motion, he brought his right hand up and carefully took one of Blake's cat ears between his thumb and forefinger before beginning to rub.

Blake inhaled sharply and her eyes shot open wide as she broke the kiss with a hitched breath. Sun froze in the middle of his caress, and looked up at her, worried. "…crossed a line?"

Blake closed her eyes and shivered as she moved her hands to his shoulders and pressed down hard. "Don't you _dare_ stop," she commanded as she dived back into a passionate kiss. Sun did as he was told, and intensified the ear rub as he brought his other hand up to lightly grasp her left ear.

Sun felt his shorts tighten as Blake squirmed atop him, and pulled away from his lips while arching her back. A small, involuntary moan escaped her as she began to blush, and Sun bit his lip.

"O-okay, _now_ stop," Blake pleaded. Sun immediately relented and found his own breathing a staccato rhythm to match hers. "We… Sun, we _can't_ do this right now. We need to talk, but… that felt _incredible_."

Sun couldn't stop his nervous grin at her words, and Blake's predatory look only made it worse. "Do we _have_ to talk, though?" He yelped as he felt Blake dig her nails into the flesh of his shoulders.

Blake narrowed her eyes as she let up. "You're doing it again. _Yes_ , we do. You hate yourself, sometimes, and blame yourself for never getting out of that place. Eventually, you started to blame the fact that you're a faunus, and later, your spite just turned back to everything about yourself, instead. Your anger wasn't primarily toward the families who left you there. Is that correct?"

Sun nodded. "I… don't really see what that has to do with anything."

"It has everything to do with _us_ , Sun. You saw my bow, and you've always insisted that I look better without it. Part of that is probably because I was never _happy_ when I was wearing it- not fully. I wore it for a long time, to try to fool myself as much as everyone around me. I wore that bow out of shame. I hated myself, too, after what I did with the Fang," Blake admitted as she transitioned to lay at Sun's side. She rested a hand upon his chest, and cuddled gently into the side of his left arm. "My shame was self-inflicted, but… to a small extent, I can understand how you felt, when you took those scissors and made the attempt."

Sun paused and considered her every word, before speaking again. "You said you _hated_ yourself. What changed that?" Sun turned his head to look at Blake, and she tilted her head.

"…come on, now. You can do it," she encouraged in a soft voice as she used her free hand to stroke his bandaged arm. Sun furrowed his brow and tried to follow her meaning, only to let out a frustrated grunt as he caught on.

"…Blake, I'm not _that_ great."

"You _are_. I'm _telling_ you that you are Sun. You changed my life, as early as when Weiss and I had that fight at Beacon. It's time I returned the favor."

"How?" Sun asked with a hint of frustration. "It all stems from feeling unwanted. And, before you say anything, I mean that in the _family_ sense. A mom, and dad. I had parents, and I was told that one day, they just… dropped me off, there. I don't remember it, and I don't remember them. I never got a reason, so I knew it had to be something wrong with _me_. That's why I just… couldn't deal with what Ghira said, earlier. I thought that hearing something like that would magically just fix everything, y'know? But it… made me feel sick. It just felt like it was unearned, somehow," Sun finished.

"I think it's because you've spent so long turning your feelings in on yourself that your sense of self-worth is at the bottom of a well," Blake pointed out. "It was too much, too fast, for you to accept."

"…and I'm… Blake, I'm scared that our relationship might go the same way," Sun admitted. "Too much… too fast…"

Blake closed her eyes and sighed. "Do you feel that way right now?"

"No," Sun replied quickly. "And I haven't, since we started. I'm just _worried_. Worried that I'll end up panicking and sabotaging things, or worried that I might end up hurting you by pushing you away."

Blake shifted and softly tugged on Sun's shoulder to roll him onto his side and face her. "I used to worry a lot, about things like that. The last time I worried about how I might get hurt, or hurt someone close to me, I ended up running away when my team needed me most. It took being blindsided by you and our relationship to knock some sense back into me. If it's ever too fast, tell me. We'll dial it back, and retry. Why worry about what horrible things _could_ happen when you can bask in what you have right now? That's how we can build you up, and get you to where you want to be."

"Where I want to be is with you. Though… I thought that was all that mattered, but it isn't true. I still want that sense of family, but I think you're right. I really do need to just… work on 'me'," Sun concluded with a sigh.

Blake shook her head and brought up a balled fist to gently knock on Sun's forehead. "That's what I've been telling you. I'm glad you're finally listening. Just make sure you back it up with action. Think about what would make you feel 'cool', as you would say, in a meaningful way, and go for it. With me, with my parents… whatever. When we've got spare time, it's the Sun Show, now."

Sun chuckled to himself as he gave Blake a squeeze. "Thanks, Blake. I…" Sun paused to reconsider. "…I deserve you."

Blake nodded, and offered him a rare smile. "There you go, and yes, you do. That's a big part of why you have me."

"And the same goes to you," Sun offered as a knock came from the wooden frame on the side of the balcony door. Blake's ears shot straight up as she looked over at the paper door with a frown.

"…I'll deal with her, Sun. You stay in bed, and close your eyes," Blake said as she sat up and slipped off the bed. She quickly hurried over to the chair where she had flung her shirt, and hastily threw it on before doing up the buttons.

"But…" Sun caught himself, and sighed. "…alright."

"You need to heal, at least for tonight. No more stress. I'll fill you in on everything in the morning, I promise," Blake said as she walked to the door. Sun nodded as she slid the door open, to reveal a worried-looking Ilia standing in the doorframe.

"What the _hell_ did the two of you do? The cops and the Fang are all over Cinnamon's place, a-"

"Shut up. Come," Blake instructed as she grabbed Ilia's wrist and yanked her inside before closing the door.

" _Hey!_ " Ilia whined as she stumbled inside. "What the… um… _hi_ , Sun…" Ilia added as she noticed him upon the bed. Sun gave her a casual wave, before Blake began to walk across the room while dragging her along.

"Hi. Good luck," Sun said with a sympathetic look. "Don't fight it when Blake is like that."

"Yeah, I know…" Ilia replied with a frown. "I can walk by myself!" she hissed as she wrenched her wrist from Blake's grip.

"Then follow, and keep quiet," Blake spat as she made her way out of the room. With one last look at Sun, Ilia made her way through the door and into the hall, behind Blake. The pair of them walked in silence as they made their way around the upper balcony, and toward the opposite side of the house.

"…we're headed to your room, right?"

" _Shh!_ " Blake glared at Ilia over her shoulder before whipping her head back around and whispering. " _Yes_ , and if my parents hear you in here, they're going to be pissed. You're not in good standing."

Ilia had the decency to look down at the floorboards as they walked, and found that she couldn't help herself as she whispered back. "…what about with you?"

Blake didn't reply, and Ilia grew anxious as they approached the familiar bedroom door. The cat faunus pushed it open and stood beside the frame to let Ilia walk in first, and she obliged. As soon as she made it in, Blake followed, and pulled the door shut behind herself, causing Ilia to flinch.

"You and me?" Blake asked. "We're not _great_."

"Blake, I'm _sorry!_ " Ilia said as she brought her voice back up to normal volume.

"Not as sorry as you're going to be if you _ever_ lay another finger on Sun. If it wasn't for him, you'd be in a body cast, by now," Blake threatened.

"Nice to see you too, _best friend_ ," Ilia sneered.

"Don't give me that," Blake snarled as she dug her hand into her pocket, and pulled out the wires she had collected from Cinnamon's workbench. "Do you still do tactical entry for the Fang?"

"Yes…" Ilia said as she moved closer to look over the offering.

"Then what do you know about this? What kind of explosives do they go to? What's this powder on them that was all over, in Cinnamon's basement?" Blake questioned rapidly.

Ilia blinked and picked up a blue wire, to turn it over in her hands. "Blake, these are… _wires_. I have no idea, they could've been connected to a toaster, for all I know."

"Do you think I know how any of this works?" Blake pressed as she flattened her ears.

"Clearly, _no_ ," Ilia said as she made her way to Blake's bed and sat. "As for the powder… it's likely just basic gunpowder. I can take these wires back to the Fang outpost outside of Kuo Kuana and look around, see what I can find."

"Then do that," Blake replied as she leaned against the doorframe. "We found _nothing_ at Cinnamon's house."

Ilia shook her head as she clenched her fist around the wire. "Not really a surprise. She's meticulous, cunning, and tends to be one step ahead of even Adam, sometimes."

"About that," Blake began. "Mom went toe to toe w-"

"You brought your _mom?_ " Ilia asked in shock. "Is she okay?"

"She's not ancient, Ilia!" Blake shot back. "And _yes_ , she's okay. Like you give a shit."

"I _do_ give a shit!" Ilia countered as she stood up and threw a hand out to the side. "I practically _lived_ here when we were young!"

"And now, you don't," Blake stated. Ilia frowned and grit her teeth. "You and I aren't just magically 'okay', now. Not after what you did."

"And what about what _you_ did?" Ilia insisted. "You left me! I know what I did wasn't right, but… I didn't know what else to do! I was angry, and hurt!"

"I was angry, too!" Blake yelled. She closed her eyes as she noticed her hands shaking in rage, and found her thoughts drifting to Sun. "…but I wasn't myself, for a long time," she added as she began to calm down. "I'm sorry, Ilia. Sorry for leaving, without trying to take you with me. I mean that. I thought I was being selfless by getting away from the Fang and saving some human lives, but… it was selfish, in regards to you."

Ilia scrunched her face as she listened, clearly unprepared for such a confession. She opened her mouth twice to reply, but found nothing that seemed right. Eventually, she let her eyes drift down to the floor and softened her tone. "I… o-okay. I'm sorry, too, for not coming after you, and for messing with Sun. And attacking both of you. I was… I wasn't myself. I kinda feel like I'm still not."

"Yeah, well, join the club with Sun and I," Blake said. "Once we fix this White Fang mess, we need to reconnect. It's not going to happen overnight."

"I know." Ilia began to play with the blue wire, and looped it through her fingers and around her knuckles as she avoided Blake's eyes. "…are you in love with him?"

"Excuse me?" Blake questioned as she narrowed her eyes. Ilia slumped her shoulders and continued playing with the wire as she stared over at the wall. "That isn't your concern. I don't know what you're thinking, but for right now, this is a business relationship. And speaking of business, what the hell is up with Cinnamon's semblance? She used it, and Sun's aura didn't come back for nearly an _hour_."

Ilia's heart sank as she looked back at Blake, and breathed out through her nose. "…business. Yeah. Cinnamon's semblance is _your_ semblance, but I guess you figured that out. If she touches you, she can use her aura to trigger yours, and fire off your semblance. If she _envenoms_ you, she can trigger it remotely, which is… bad. Really, really bad news. From what she's told me, though, her aura playing off of yours does something odd. It entwines them, and her victim has to take the time and energy to recover _both_ auras. It's exhausting."

" _Great_ ," Blake stated sarcastically. "So we really can't afford to get touched."

"Or injected," Ilia added. "Listen, I… I should really get going. Get back to camp, report in, and see if I can figure out what Cinnamon made for Adam. She almost definitely made some explosives to use at Haven, but if I can find something concrete, we can go in prepared. Maybe… maybe I can even sabotage them." She rose from the bed and extended her hand. Blake gave Ilia the rest of the wires, and nodded.

"And I need to leave, too. I have to get Sun a new shirt, and pick up some other things."

"…what happened to Sun's shirt?" Ilia asked as she hiked a brow.

Blake rolled her eyes, and slid the door open. "Cinnamon's window happened, when Mom made her dramatic entrance. I'm trusting you to show yourself out, and not get caught. Swing by in two days with what you've found, and _then_ we can have a little sit-down about… _us_. Alright?"

"Alright," Ilia replied. She felt deflated as Blake nodded and slipped out the door. "…nice to see you too, Blake," she said to no one in particular as she eyed the door to Blake's balcony. Suddenly, another idea struck her, and she made her way out the door that Blake had taken.

Ilia shifted the color of her skin to blend in to the paper walls, and crept slowly through the halls all the way back to the railing overlooking the dining hall. She held her breath as she watched Blake cross the room and exit into the kitchen, before shifting her skin color back and walking quickly to the guest room. Ilia took care to slide the door open as slowly as she could, before slipping into the room and closing it just as slowly. Once she was inside, she walked over to the bed, where Sun laid with his eyes closed.

"Hey," she began. Sun opened his eyes and sat up, looking a bit confused. "Can we talk…?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Blake's ear massage has been waiting in the wings for something like 20 chapters, now. What fun.

As far as Sun's age during the flashback- I don't want to pin any hard numbers on any of the three scenes, but I will say that during his initial outburst, he was under 10. The attempted tail severing occurred before he was a teen, and the last scene... I do have a hard number in mind, and there may be one more flashback before this is all over connected to it.

Next update on Saturday, the 16th.

 **-RD**


	25. One Step Forward

Sun blinked several times and tilted his head as he looked Ilia over. He brought a hand up to rub at his eyes, and found that he couldn't remember whether or not he'd fallen asleep, or how long ago Ilia had left the room with Blake.

"Uh, sure! As long as you don't mind me being a little out of it. I'm pretty wiped, to be honest," he admitted. Sun patted the spot next to himself upon the bed, and Ilia hesitated before simply taking a seat on the edge instead. The pair sat in silence for a few moments as Sun waited for Ilia to speak, and Ilia kept her eyes on the sheets. Finally, she mustered up the courage to look at him, and opened her mouth.

"Hey, so… it looks like we match," Ilia said with a self-conscious attempt at a grin.

Sun raised a brow, and scratched at his neck. "What do you mean? Like I said, I'm a little slow, right now."

The scales on Ilia's cheeks turned pink as she shook her head and pointed to one of her bandaged arms. "No, no! It's not you, I just… didn't really explain… I meant our injuries. We're both wrapped like mummies, or something…"

"Oh!" Sun chuckled and offered Ilia a warm smile as he brought his hand down and around to rub at his biceps. "Yeah, we definitely do. Mine are from broken glass, too. Quite a coincidence, huh?"

Ilia tucked her legs at an odd angle and sat primarily on one hip as she pressed an arm down into the mattress for support. She looked down at her hand as her voice grew smaller, and her facial scales shifted to a pale blue. "Yeah… how about that…"

An uncomfortable silence ruled the air, before Sun broke it with an exasperated sigh as he began to slide himself along the mattress. Ilia froze and looked at him in terror as he closed the distance and pulled her into a gentle hug.

"Sun! What are y-"

" _Hey,_ " he began. "I know you're feeling terrible right now, probably because of how we started out, but it's okay. You're with us, now, and I've got your back. It's kinda my thing, alright?" Sun asked as he gave her a soft squeeze. Ilia squeaked in surprise, and tried to keep her eyes off of him as she took a few calming breaths.

"Sun, I was a total bitch to you. I deserve the treatment I'm getting from Blake right now, and I'm fully expecting the same treatment from you. You don't have to mask your feelings about me. I understand if you're still upset."

"…you mask yours. I saw the messages you were sending her, after we exchanged scrolls," Sun said as he dropped his arms. Ilia's entire body turned an icy blue as she glared at him and narrowed her eyes. "And don't even get mad, Ilia. I _know_ you raided my scroll, too. What I saw was an honest accident."

"You need to forget what you saw, Sun. _Now_ ," Ilia commanded as she slipped off the bed and stood, arms crossed.

"Why?" he insisted as he moved to follow her, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Because it's going to complicate things! You're in a relationship with her, aren't you? It's… _serious_ , isn't it?" Ilia asked with a strained insistence.

Sun heaved a sigh, and rested his arms on his thighs. "Yeah, and yeah, it is. Why did you come back to talk to me, Ilia? I'm guessing Blake doesn't know?"

Ilia merely shook her head, and kept her lips sealed.

"It's to sort out some complicated things, isn't it? So, let's do this. We're alone, Blake can't interfere, and you know what? _I_ want to sort things out, too. I'm not mad at you, Ilia. I mean that. I'm more… tense, I guess? It seems to me like you're barely holding on, and I don't want to set you off," Sun continued.

"Stop, Sun. Just… stop, or you _will_ set me off," Ilia threatened.

"In that case, just let it out. I get the feeling you don't exactly have someone you can just vent to, a-"

"That someone was _Blake!_ " Ilia yelled. Sun fell silent immediately, and leaned in to listen intently. "And I lost her! I lost her, from just… the shittiest circumstances imaginable! Then, _you_ swoop in and sweep her off her feet, after I tried for _years_ to get her to see how I feel! When she came back to Kuo Kuana, I almost wanted to run to her and ditch the Fang, but then I saw _you_ leaving the mansion with Kali. I had no idea who the hell you were, but the more I listened in, the angrier I got. The more I understood who you are, to _her_ , the worse it made me feel. You stole her from me, without even knowing it," Ilia choked out as her eyes began to well up.

Sun adopted a sympathetic tone, and pushed off the edge of the mattress to offer a hand. "Ilia, you know that isn't what happened. I didn't 'steal' her. Dating someone is up t-" He jumped slightly as Ilia smacked the hand away and let out a frustrated growl.

" _I know!_ " Ilia fumed. "That _isn't_ what happened, because she was never mine to begin with! I know, Sun! No one owes anyone else love, and some of us get short changed in some bullshit cosmic lottery. She _could_ have been mine, and I know that part of it's my fault, but you're just… you're the _perfect_ target for how I'm feeling!" Ilia's hands shook as she tried to decide what to do with them, and she settled for pointing a finger into his chest. "You _suck_ , Sun! I suck more, and it's just…" Ilia let out a shuddering breath as she let the tears fall, and balled her fists at her sides. " _Everything_ sucks."

Sun waited for a few moments, to let Ilia continue. After watching her simply stand as her skin shifted through several colors in silent tears, he made another approach and telegraphed a hug with an exaggerated motion. To his surprise, Ilia didn't resist, but instead returned the hug in a desperate grasp. Sun hissed as he felt his wounded torso being squeezed, but tried to distract himself by patting Ilia on the back as she sniffled against his chest.

"Everything _does_ suck, Ilia. Trust me, I know what being love-starved is like." Sun continued quickly as Ilia glared up at him. "I know, I know… but that's not what I meant. I'm talking about love from _family_. My circumstances… weren't exactly great. Let's leave it at that, for now."

"My parents are _dead_. They were killed in a dust mine collapse. So, take whatever feelings you have about yours, and multiply by watching someone _else_ dating Blake. First it was Adam, and then it was _you_. I grew up with her. I tried for _years_ to drop hints, and eventually, came out to her, only to get a 'maybe'," Ilia seethed.

Sun shifted as he considered her words, and found that he had nothing to say that would offer comfort as Ilia continued to dampen his chest.

"…that's what I thought. I know I brought a lot of this on myself, and sometimes, I still wonder if confessing to Blake played a part in making her run."

"No," Sun interjected immediately. "Ilia, you look at me." He gripped her shoulders and pushed her back slightly to hold her at arm's length. Ilia sniffed as she listened, her eyes red from crying. "She left because of _Adam_. Not just because of his extremism, but because of what he did to her."

"What he… _did_ to her?" Ilia asked, confusion clear in her voice. "Their relationship was _perfect_. I watched it from the sidelines. They were madly in love, and he treated her like a queen."

Ilia shrank back as she watched Sun's face twist into an unfamiliar mask of fury. "Is that what you think? She never told you? Her best friend?"

"Sun, what the hell are you talking about?" Ilia asked as she shivered. She instinctually took a step back, looking somewhat afraid.

Sun clenched his teeth and guided her back into a tighter, more aggressive hug as he breathed out through his nose. "…it's not my place to tell you the details… but I _will_ tell you this- I'm going to fight for you. If you want it, I'm going to offer you some support. Backup. 'Love', if you want to call it that. I'm going to push like hell to bring you and Blake back together so you can reconnect and learn the truth, and I'll be your shoulder if no one else will. I mean, I'll still do it, even if Blake gets to that point again, but…"

"I know what you mean," Ilia cut in. The pair simply stood for a few moments, before Ilia offered a final squeeze and broke the hug. "I'm starting to see what Blake sees in you." Ilia shook her head and wiped her eyes, before walking past Sun to sit on the bed with a huff. He turned his gaze to follow her, and smiled.

"So, is that a yes? Are you down for getting a little closer, and letting me help out?"

Ilia flopped backward onto the bed and spread her arms out to the sides as she stared up at the ceiling, her skin finally reverting to its normal tone.

"Sun… I have _no one_. I'll take whatever I can get… and you're far from the worst. Once we get all of this Haven stuff taken care of, I might need to lean on you a bit. Or a lot. I don't deserve to have you as a friend, but I _am_ grateful that you're even considering."

Ilia's eyes widened as she was launched a few inches into the air from Sun impacting the space next to her. "Well, we don't always get what we deserve, huh? Venting isn't so bad, right? I can take it."

"So I've noticed." Ilia flinched as a knock came at the side of the door. Acting on reflex, she shifted her skin to match the sheets and stood up into a squat. "Sun, I need to go."

Sun sat up and immediately put a hand on her shoulder, while shaking his head. "Who is it?" he called out.

" _Kali_ ," came the reply through the wall. " _Can I come in? I made you something._ "

Ilia's eyes widened, and she bit her lip. "No, no, no, _no_. Sun, I can't. She used to be like a mother to me, after… the incident. She probably hates me, now, a-"

"Yeah, sure! C'mon in!" Sun gave Ilia's shoulder a squeeze as she looked at him in disbelief. " _Trust_ me. Kali's good people. She wouldn't turn you away."

"Sun, it's not about turning me away, it's about the fact that I feel like dog shit and I don't wa-"

Ilia was cut off as the door slid open, and Kali walked in carrying a tray with a teapot and two cups. Kali froze as she caught sight of the crouching chameleon faunus atop the mattress, and Ilia shifted her skin back to normal with a worried look.

"… _Ilia?_ It's been years! Wait here, I'll get another cup."

Kali set the tray down upon an ottoman and disappeared back through the doorway as Ilia simply fell backward to sit upon the bed with Sun's hand still on her shoulder.

"See? We already told her you were cool. Just go with it."

"Just go with it," Ilia repeated. "Is everything really so simple to you?"

"Most things, yeah. For the things that aren't, I have Blake. Well… I'm getting to that point, because she's forcing me to let her in. You're not the only one who doesn't want to talk out their issues, but it's helped me a lot. It's time I pass that on to you," Sun replied as he dropped his grip to sit beside her.

Ilia rolled her eyes and leaned forward to punch Sun in the leg. "I reserve the right to hit you over the head with the tea cup and run, if I so choose. Stop being so… _mushy_ , and positive, and... _eugh_. It's _gross_."

Sun rubbed at his thigh and chuckled while shaking his head. "No can do, Ilia. That's just how I am, and you could stand to be _more_ positive. You'd be happier."

"I'm not worried about being 'happy', right now. I'm worried about stopping an attack on Haven and getting Blake to look at me with something less than intent to kill," Ilia replied as Kali walked back into the bedroom and slid the door shut. She picked up Sun's discarded weapon from the chair near the door and propped it up behind the edge of the door, essentially locking it in place.

"Um… what…?" Ilia asked as she rose from the bed with Sun in tow.

Kali turned back to face the pair with a smile as she spun the teacup around her finger. "Oh, if Ghira catches you, you're dead. That will buy us enough time to throw you off the balcony, if he comes calling. Now, come here, and get a long overdue hug."

" _A hug?_ " Ilia asked incredulously. "I… I _attacked_ Blake and Sun, infiltrated your home multiple times, and…"

"And I've been worried sick about you. So yes, a hug," Kali insisted as she approached with open arms. Ilia tensed horribly, before Sun gave her a gentle shove to the small of her back and she stumbled forward.

Kali caught the unbalanced girl, and Ilia threw her arms around Kali's waist as she half-fell into a warm embrace. Kali took a deep breath in of Ilia's hair, and mouthed 'thank you' to Sun over her shoulder. He returned the gesture with a wink as he folded his arms.

Ilia pulled back after a few seconds and whirled on Sun, her scales a furious crimson. "You're an _ass_."

"A pretty fine ass, at that," Kali commented. It was Sun's turn to blush as he made his way to one of the waiting chairs, and sank down into it while Kali moved to set up tea on the coffee table.

"Yeah, I know," Sun replied. Ilia took the seat across from Sun and glared at him, her cheeks and facial scales a light pink as her skin shifted back to its almond tone.

"So," Kali began as she turned to Sun, "I originally came to apologize to you for breaking a window and cutting you up in the process. I saw that Cinnamon had you, and it was the quickest way to get you loose," Kali explained as she took a chair between the two teens.

Sun waved a hand, and used the other to begin pouring the three of them tea. "Nah, it's no big deal. I need an excuse to lay around for a day anyway, so let's call it a favor. Besides, there are more important things to talk about, right here, right now," Sun said with a grin. Ilia used her middle finger to massage the inside corner of her eye as Kali looked at Sun.

"I suppose you're right… and rest, you will. I trust my daughter, but I want to check your wounds… and the burn on your hand."

"…sorry…" Ilia added as she took her tea and stared down into the liquid. "And don't say it's fine. It won't help me feel any less guilty," she added quickly.

Sun nodded and respected her request, as Kali sat back into her chair. "Hey, Kali? Are _you_ alright? She didn't get any hits in, did she?"

Kali smirked as she took a drink, before shaking her head. "Nothing noteworthy, but she did come close, a few times. I like her."

"You _like_ her?" Sun balked as he nearly spilled his tea and jerked forward to keep the cup steady.

"That sounds like something you'd say, yeah," Ilia said as she gave Kali a deadpan look.

"Let me clarify- I like her in the way that she's definitely going to be a challenge, and I very much look forward to knocking her smug ass out. She's a woman who knows what she wants, and that's always fun to be around. I'm calling her as my rival, in this little anti-Fang crusade," Kali stated as she crossed her legs.

Sun shook his head. "But… I thought you were against this? Now, you're 'calling' a rival?"

"Well, if we're going to war, I might as well have some fun with it," Kali said nonchalantly.

"… _gods,_ I missed you," Ilia said as she set her tea down onto the coffee table. Sun merely looked back and forth between both of the women in disbelief as he tried to make sense of the situation. "You haven't changed at all."

"I missed you too, honey," Kali replied with a warm smile. "Having Blake back, and now you as well, is a welcome surprise… not to mention Sun, here. Things had gotten so lonely, and _dreary_ in Kuo Kuana that I was starting to get bored and listless. The three of you bring some youth back into these walls, and it's stirring some old feelings."

Ilia hesitated, before leaning in and hiking a brow. "Which old feelings are we talking about? The kind that led to you taking Blake and I bra shopping, only to get caught by Ghira in the marketplace? He looked like he wanted to die, when you called him over."

Kali met Ilia's statement with a wicked grin. "Something like that, yes. Now, I can put that sort of energy into teasing these two," Kali said while hiking a thumb at Sun. Ilia narrowed her eyes and shot him a predatory smirk that reminded him a _little_ too much of Blake for comfort.

Sun put his hands up defensively, and offered them both his best disarming grin. " _Ladies_ , please. I think we can come to a reasonable conclusion, here, that doesn't involve embarrassing me. I'm an injured man! I need rest!" he joked as he reached for his tea.

"What you need is pampering, and being injured makes you vulnerable," Kali countered.

Ilia nodded, and took a sip of her tea. "Don't think I won't help, when and where I can. Help annoy, embarrass, and _occasionally_ pamper, that is."

"Okay, okay. Tell you what," Sun said as he stood with his tea. "I'm gonna go take a lap around the house, and leave you two to scheme and plot my demise."

Kali's ears shot up as she gave Sun a worried look. "Are you sure? We can tone it down… _slightly_."

Sun shook his head, and gave Kali a shrug. "It's not that, really. I feel like stretching my legs a bit, and Ilia can't stay on her own for too long, without it looking suspicious. Take this opportunity, tonight, to catch up, and we can talk later. Sound good?"

Kali gave Sun a slow nod, and set her tea down before standing to offer him a gentle hug. Sun returned the gesture with one hand while keeping his tea steady with the other. He let the embrace linger as Kali leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"…you're a good man. Thank you, Sun."

Sun merely nodded in return, before offering Ilia a small, two-fingered salute. "I'll see you around, scalie."

Ilia huffed in the middle of a mouthful of tea, and swallowed before shooting him a glare. "Oh what _ever_ , monkey boy."

Sun smiled to himself as he scooped up his weapon and slipped out the door. He took a sip of his tea as he made his way down the halls with no destination in mind. Almost without realizing it, he snapped his weapon apart and began to twirl the device while walking and reflecting upon the events of the day.

A sudden vibration from inside of his pocket broke his train of thought, and Sun folded his weapon back down into a short rod before stashing it in one of his belt loops. He fished around in his pocket for his scroll, and found a message from Blake with a photo of herself peeking over the collar of a new, wine-red dress shirt. Sun grinned and fired back a simple message of 'Looks great', followed by a heart. He moved to stash the scroll back in his pocket, when it vibrated once again.

Sun quirked a brow as he moved the scroll back into his line of sight, only to see a new message chain with a portrait of Ilia next to the notification. He tapped the grey bubble to bring up the text, and a warm feeling spread through his core as he read the brief admission.

 _Thank you. I really needed this, tonight._

Sun slid his thumb across the scroll to send a reply.

 _I know. Reconnect with her. We can hang out soon, once this is all sorted._

Another reply came quickly, and Sun took a quick drink as he read.

 _I hope so._

A sudden, unexpected thought pulsed through Sun's mind as he considered the situation. At first, he moved to put the scroll away once again, before he drew it back out and set his thumb on autopilot as he took another sip, refusing to look at the screen as he typed.

 _Me too, little sis._

Sun began to walk once again, partially to try to distract himself. He half hoped that Ilia wouldn't respond, but said hopes were dashed as another text came in almost immediately.

 _…little sis?_

Sun took in a deep breath as his thumb slid across the scroll once again. "Well, no going back now…"

 _Yeah, why not? Like I said, I've got your back, and I'm not going away, even if you want me to. Besides, a little sister is supposed to make your life a living hell, and I have a funny feeling you're working on that right now with Kali._

Sun stopped walking once again as he stared at the screen, this time praying for a reply. He took a final nervous sip to drain his teacup, and felt his heartbeat pick up as another message popped onto the screen.

 _You can't prove anything, big bro._

As he made his way down to the kitchen to drop off the empty cup, Sun found that he couldn't remember another time in his life when he'd smiled so wide.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

According to the 'chapter pacing guide' I made a few weeks ago, events are already 5 chapters behind where I thought they would be at Chapter 25. At this rate, the story will _never_ end. There's just too much potential in Sun, Blake, Ilia, Adam, and the Belladonnas to rush things, so I'm going to just keep pushing ahead and say that I have no goddamned idea on a projected chapter count. There is a _long_ way to go.

As a side note, I'm switching the Ghira character tag to Ilia, since everyone's favorite lizbian is going to be playing a much larger role than Ghira, as time goes on. After all, 'What You Stole' refers to many things in this story…

Next update on Tuesday, the 19th.

 **-RD**


	26. Two Steps Back

Blake frowned slightly as she adjusted her positioning once again and struggled to keep the dress shirt where she wanted it. She stood in the marketplace next to a stall, earning several strange looks as she tried desperately to lay the shirt on her chest, hold it in place with one hand, peek over the collar in what she could only hope was a cute fashion, and take a clean photo of the entire process with the other hand. Blake exhaled through her nose as she leaned backward slightly to help the shirt rest on her chest without slipping, and finally found success. She slowly moved her scroll-arm forward and snapped a photo, before drawing it back and looking over her work.

The picture had come out exactly as she wanted it- slightly tilted at an angle, a little off-center, and naturally cute. Blake sighed in relief as she realized just how much effort had gone into making the photo look spontaneous, before sending it off to Sun. She let the screen of her scroll linger on the conversation as she watched a grey bubble appear to indicate that a response was coming, and smirked to herself.

"…not bad at all. You've got an eye for quality photos."

Blake's hand jittered as she jumped in surprise at the voice right behind her, and she accidentally dropped her scroll into the dirt. She whirled and brought her arm up to grasp Gambol Shroud upon her back while she clenched the dress shirt tightly in her other hand. Her eyes narrowed and she grit her teeth as she watched Cinnamon nonchalantly dip forward and pick up the fallen scroll.

"Give that _back_ ," she commanded as she began to draw her blade.

Cinnamon's eyes flicked up from the device to meet Blake's. "Hm… alright," she answered in a lighthearted tone as she outstretched her arm to offer the scroll back to Blake.

The cat faunus merely stared at the offering for a few silent moments, before whipping her free hand forward with lightning speed to snatch the scroll away from Cinnamon. Blake took several steps back as her unexpected companion hiked a brow and shook her head.

"My, you're tense. Keep that frown up, and you'll have wrinkles before you're my age."

"What the hell do you want, Cinnamon?" Blake asked with an ample amount of venom as she began to circle the other faunus. Slowly, onlookers halted their conversations to watch the encounter, and the sound of worried murmurs began to fill the immediate area.

"…a new window and table would be nice, but I'll let those items go for something more important. Let's start by taking your hand off your weapon, so you stop causing a scene. You're attracting attention, and there's no telling how many members of the White Fang are in the area," Cinnamon added as she raised an arm over her head to stretch, while flexing the other and grasping her elbow. The orange and white spines along her triceps twitched dangerously as she extended her arms, and then dropped them back to her sides.

Blake took a few breaths and pocketed her scroll. She looked around at the whispering onlookers and growled to herself before taking a plastic bag from a nearby stand and stuffing the dress shirt into it.

"Drop the act. You didn't come and bother me without a purpose. The cops are all over your place, and when they find the suspicious things in your basement, they're going to ask questions," Blake commented as she seethed.

"Probably true," Cinnamon agreed, "which is why I'm skipping town tonight… but I wanted to talk to you before heading out of the village. Not here, of course- too many ears, and not enough concentrated noise to cover the conversation."

"And where exactly do you propose we go? Some 'safe' house? You seriously expect me to follow you, and play these games? You're White Fang. You're with _Adam_. You're the enemy, and that's the end of it," Blake spat as she shook her head.

"Am I?" Cinnamon asked as she mirrored Blake's pose. Most of the onlookers went back to their business, while the ones still paying attention began to give the two women a wide berth as they watched from afar. "I really wish you didn't see it that way. And no, I don't expect you to follow me somewhere that you could easily be ambushed. In fact, there's nothing to stop you from simply using your semblance to… _run away_ from the situation, is there?" Cinnamon asked as she tilted a palm out to the side.

Blake ground her teeth together as she tried to maintain her composure. "I don't know who you've been talking to, but I'm getting really tired of your smug _bullshit._ Give me a straight answer, or I walk."

"Kitty has claws," Cinnamon mocked as she turned away from Blake. "I'm going to one of the dockside tables, at the edge of the market. Isolated, and plenty of noise from the harbor and the distant clamor of the crowd here to mask any private conversation. Join me, or don't."

The woman began to walk with a sultry sway in her step, her painted sarong rocking side to side as she went. Blake watched her for a moment and then took out her scroll and read Sun's reply, before sending one of her own.

 _Sun, I need to take a chance on a potential lead, alone. I need you to trust me. If I don't text you again in an hour, call the police and come looking for me at the docks. I love you._

With an annoyed exhale, Blake began to walk through the crowds as she followed Cinnamon's path toward the dockside tables. The wooden road between market stalls turned into a raised bridge as it extended out into the shallows of the sea, and formed a wide circle with tables dotted around the edges. Blake glared around from table to table until she spotted Cinnamon, who sat checking her nails at one in the distance. She stomped forward along the raised wood toward the setup, and slipped into a chair across from the other faunus with crossed arms.

"Start talking," Blake demanded.

"How's Sun? Is his aura fully recovered?" Cinnamon asked in a smooth tone.

"Oh, fuck you," Blake snarled as she narrowed her eyes.

"So _fiery_. No wonder Adam liked you."

Blake slammed a fist on the table in rage as she leaned in. Cinnamon didn't react.

"Are you trying to provoke me? Because it's working! I'm about at my limit for bullshit and stress from the White Fang, and you're making it a lot worse. If you want to talk about something _important_ , then get to it. Otherwise, I'm leaving right now," Blake threatened as she pulled her hand back to her chest. Her entire arm pulsed with pain from the impact, and she ground her teeth together to hide it.

"…between us, few things are more important than Adam," Cinnamon began. "There are a couple of things I think you should know about him, Belladonna."

Blake's ears flattened as she shifted in her seat. "What can you possibly tell me that I don't already know? If you're going to try to paint him as sympathetic, it's not going to work. You don't know him like I do."

"Don't I?" Cinnamon inquired as she crossed her legs beneath the table and leaned back in her chair. "We've been an item for more than a year."

The bitter cold feeling associated with her flesh creeped into Blake's core at the revelation, and she found herself at a loss for words.

"Surprised?"

"… _why?_ " Blake asked, before she could help herself. "What do you see in him? And why don't I recognize you, at all? What are you _doing_ here, Cinnamon? What are you doing in the White Fang? Just… what _is_ all of this?"

"Let's take those questions one at a time, Blake. I joined the Fang a few months after you left. What I'm doing in the Fang is the same thing you tried to do- make a change. As for what I see in Adam… it's rather simple, really. I see _opportunity_."

"No," Blake said. "No, Cinnamon, I need you to stop being vague. I need you to be straight with me about your intentions, or to leave me the hell alone. I can't take any more taunting and teasing statements that feel like threats. I came home to _relax_ , and spend time with people who matter to me. All you're doing is making that a lot harder, and if you really _are_ helping the White Fang attack Haven Academy, then we can't do this. I have nothing to say to you, and you have nothing of value to say to me," Blake finished as she pushed her chair back.

"Adam is on a self-destructive path of vengeance. He's a loose cannon, constantly looking for a spark to set him off and encourage his violent tendencies. Do you disagree?" Cinnamon asked as she remained still. Blake hesitated instead of standing, and looked sideways to the water.

"…no. Obviously. I don't care if he self-destructs. I _hope_ he does, because I can't face him. I can't deal with him, and I don't want to put that responsibility on someone else."

"I know. I don't care, either. In fact… I have much the same hope," Cinnamon replied with a smirk.

"But you're _dating_ him," Blake said immediately as she turned to face Cinnamon once again.

"What better way to get close? To find out what buttons to push and strings to pull?"

Blake opened her mouth and closed it again as a shiver rocked through her body. "…you… expect me to believe that you're _using_ him?"

"No, I don't expect you to believe it," Cinnamon began, "which is a big part of why I'm telling you. That way, when everything comes to its inevitable conclusion, you'll see that I'm true to my word and reconsider your position. I also don't think that Adam, or anyone else in the Fang, would believe you if you told them what I'm telling you. Denying it is easy, and you have every reason to lie. Besides… doesn't this make things that much more interesting?" Cinnamon asked with a devilish grin.

Blake's eyes darted back and forth as she searched Cinnamon's face. "I… _why?_ What do you get out of all of this? If you're telling me the truth, then… what's the purpose?"

"When Adam meets his end, it will be from his own blind rage. It may not come from you, poetic though it may be, and it _certainly_ won't be from me, but it _will_ come. When it does, I'll be ready to step in. Adam would be the perfect martyr and motivation for what remains of the Fang, wouldn't he? How _easy_ it would be to twist his untimely death into a guiding light for those with wills too weak to lead."

"This… but, Sienna! What about Sienna?"

"Sienna is _weak_ ," Cinnamon replied, her voice laced with venom. "Sienna is weak, and will not last much longer with Adam climbing the ranks and making plans."

"What are you saying? Is he going to do something to her?" Blake asked, her voice shaky.

"Are you going to stop him, if he does? Do you even know how, or where to go?" Cinnamon asked with narrowed eyes. Blake mashed her lips uncomfortably as she wrung her hands together. "I didn't think so. She is a necessary loss, for the greater good."

"So you're just willing to sit back and watch people die, to make a power grab? That's what all of this is about, then?" Blake asked as she stood. Her hand trembled as she brought her arm up to reach for Gambol Shroud, but found herself pausing halfway through the motion as Cinnamon fixed her with an unreadable look.

"No. Not quite. I'm not interested in 'power'. Not really. Power is necessary, but it's a means to an end. All I want is equality between human and faunus. Was that not the intention behind the formation of the White Fang?"

"…at any price. You're willing to pay any price to make that happen, is what you're telling me," Blake stated as her hand dropped limply to her side.

"Again, not quite. I refuse to kill faunus, and I _greatly_ dislike injuring them."

"You're planning to blow up Haven Academy! Faunus _go_ there!" Blake said as she threw an arm out to the side. "You're insane! None of this makes any sense!"

"…sit down, Belladonna," Cinnamon replied with ice in her voice. " _Now_."

Blake's skin crawled as she looked at the woman before her, and her stomach lurched as she found herself slowly sinking back into the seat. She couldn't tell exactly why she obeyed, but she didn't question it, either.

"I don't like this. I don't like any of this. Your semblance isn't useful one on one, and we're alone. If you don't start making sense, I'm taking you in," Blake threatened.

Cinnamon rolled her eyes. "I've heard that line before, just earlier today. Listen, I can't say _too_ much… but I can say that if something I built was going to be used at a time that it could kill, or even injure a large number of faunus… then I wouldn't build it. You're a smart girl. Think it over."

Blake furrowed her brows as she stared down at the surface of the table. As she spoke, she found her voice coming out small and unsure. "…is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"One other thing, yes," Cinnamon said as she leaned in. Blake instinctively pulled back, before Cinnamon extended a hand and pulled her index finger toward herself to gesture Blake to come closer. Blake bit her lip as she leaned back in, and Cinnamon moved to whisper in her ear.

"…the White Fang have an island base, within a day's travel from Kuo Kuana. I can't tell you where, but I _can_ tell you that searching for it is suicide. It's too heavily fortified for you and your merry band of misfits, or even the law enforcement of Kuo Kuana to take. The reason I'm telling you at all is that Adam is there, right now. He's close, and there's a good chance that he'll end up here, sooner than later. You need to leave this village, Blake. Take Sun, convince your family to go, and _disappear_. Kuo Kuana is ripe with faunus that could support the cause of the Fang, and Adam needs bodies for something happening _soon_. We both know he isn't above making an example to get his way, and the Belladonna family is a meaningful target. You aren't safe… and _I_ should be the least of your worries."

Blake's eyes widened as she leaned back, her mouth dry. "…stop him. You need to stop him. We can't just leave, this is our _home!_ If you're really trying to help me, you need to stop him from coming here, Cinnamon," Blake pleaded as she stood once again.

" _Help_ you?" Cinnamon asked, amused. "Oh, I haven't been trying to help you at all. I've been feeding you information that I _want_ to feed you, and you can take it or leave it. We aren't on the same side, but we do share at least one goal. Because of that, I don't mind keying you in to… _certain_ information."

Cinnamon stood as well, and folded her arms. She pulled an uncomfortable face as she looked at Blake, and let out a ragged sigh.

"…there's also the fact that, well…" Cinnamon said as she frowned, "…Adam _does_ gloat about what he did to you, to anyone who will listen. He calls you his little 'doll', and talks up his 'conquests' among the other men at the camp, who love nothing more than to hear every indecent detail. I know you have no reason to believe me, but I don't ask for or appreciate his little stories. He offers them freely, and quite frankly, I find it _disgusting_. From one woman to another… I'll buy you a day, when he makes the decision to head to Kuo Kuana. That's honestly the best I can do. Consider it a gift."

Blake said nothing as she looked once again to the water, her breaths erratic and her stomach in knots. Cinnamon looked up at the sky as she extended a hand to the side, and then curled her fingers inward to form a fist as she rubbed them against her palm. "…it's starting to rain. A storm is coming, Blake. Best not get caught in it."

Nothing more was said as Blake turned and began to run. Raindrops brought an uncomfortable, frigid feeling onto her skin and hair as she clenched her shopping bag tightly to her chest while she ran. With her free hand, she reached for her scroll and fired off a message to Sun, while ignoring his previous reply.

 _I'm okay, but I need you right now. I'm headed back to the mansion. Meet me in your room. It's going to be a long night._

A response came almost immediately, and Blake cursed under her breath as she read from the screen.

 _Gotta be your room. Ilia stuck around, and she's talking to Kali in mine. What's wrong?_

Blake sniffled as a downpour started up, and the cold droplets dampened her dress shirt in a cascade of freezing water.

 _Everything. Everything but you_.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Big things coming. At this point, the story is transitioning into Volume 5.

-I wasn't actually planning to include Kali, Ilia, and Blake's bra-shopping as a legitimate scene... but ask, and you shall receive. I know where I can work it in.

-Team SSSN: Oh, there will _definitely_ be some focus on Sun's team and his thoughts on them... and Team RWBY, as well.

-This update schedule _sucks_ , but I absolutely refuse to break it. Once I begin bashing my head against a wall, I don't stop until the wall falls over. The story coming after this one is going to follow a different update schedule (twice per week on two consistent days) and I'll be taking a short hiatus of some sort before I begin uploading it, but until that point, I'm sticking to this. The people deserve more Eclipse/Black Sun, gay lizards, and Kali being Kali. And soon, Adam being anything _but_ Adam.

-I updated the description of this story, because it was seriously ass before. I'm one of those people who just kinda _does things_ , and when this story was originally conceived, it was a slice-of-life, 10-chapter at most affair of Sun just bumbling around the manor and eventually making the kisses with Blake. The new description fits the story much more, so feel free to read it if you... need help deciding if you want to read the story you're now 26 chapters into? I don't know.

Next update on Friday, the 22nd.

 **-RD**


	27. Three Steps Sideways

Sun took the stairs two at a time as he made his way back to the balcony around the dining hall. He looked over to the closed guest room door and thought about rejoining Kali and Ilia, but shook his head as he thought better of it. Instead, he made a right and began to wander down the hallways without a destination in mind. As he passed another branching hall, he stopped and strained his ears as an unfamiliar sound began to echo from outside the manor. Loud, muted rushing sounds pushed against the walls of the house and caused the wooden supports to groan gently as they were battered by high winds.

"…damn. Sounds like a storm's brewing," Sun mused to himself as he began to walk again. Another whistling rush of wind brought a sharper sound through the halls, and Sun shivered instinctually. "Really hope Blake gets home, soon…"

Sun rounded a corner and paused as he found the lights on in Ghira's office yet again. As though his body was on autopilot, Sun made a beeline for the door and gently slid back the paper, only to find Ghira sitting behind the desk with his elbows upon messy stacks of paper spread haphazardly around the wooden surface and his head in his hands.

"…feels like the only time I see you outside of here is when we're eating," Sun said softly as he closed the door behind himself. Ghira looked up, and frowned.

"That isn't the first time I've heard those words," he admitted as he leaned back into his chair. "If it isn't paperwork dealing with running this village or face-to-face talks with concerned citizens, it's a meeting with Corsac and Fennec. Their absence over the past few days speaks volumes about the White Fang, and what you and Blake told me. The two of them are not exactly skilled at damage control."

"Well, that makes our job easier, at least a little," Sun offered as he moved to sit on the corner of the desk, arms folded. The edge of Ghira's mouth pulled into a frown as he let out a contemplative noise, and he mimicked Sun's gesture.

"Slightly. Very, very slightly. You look well, Sun."

"I am. Well… other than the injuries and whatnot," he said with a grin.

"Mm. Kali filled me in on your outing. This Shoal woman sounds dangerous… and I don't just mean in combat," Ghira grumbled.

"Yeah, she is… but we'll handle it. Blake managed to get some evidence, and we're working to figure out what it all means."

"So I've heard," Ghira replied. "I've been working on an address to the public of Kuo Kuana for the past several hours, and this is only making it easier for me to find the words. Though… would you mind looking it over, once I've finished?"

Sun blinked in surprise, and pointed to his chest. " _Me?_ Isn't Blake the more… words-y type? I mean, she reads constantly, so she could probably make it flow better than I could."

Ghira nodded. "True, but I'm not looking for grammatical assistance. Everything you do seems to be from the heart, and that is exactly what this speech needs to be."

Sun's grin only intensified at the words, and Ghira put on a smirk of his own. "Sure thing! Honestly, though, I think you'll do fine. You must be used to this kind of thing by now, right?"

"You would think so, but some things, you just never get used to," Ghira said as he propped his elbows on the desk once again and laced his fingers together. "I've never been fond of public speaking… but it's something that I have to face. We all have things like that, don't we?"

"Yeah," Sun said through an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, we do. I talked to Blake about… stuff."

"Oh? And how did it go?" Ghira asked as he leaned in with interest.

"Well… at first it just made me feel awful, but… it was almost like flipping a switch, with her. She knew exactly what to say to make things not seem so dark, and she pretty much told me that our entire relationship is going to be dedicated to helping me out, for now," Sun said as he pushed off the edge of the desk to stand.

Ghira chuckled as he rose to stand beside Sun. "What did I tell you? Though she may be outwardly cold, Blake is full of passion for what matters to her."

"Part of why I fell for her, sir," Sun said as he felt a vibration in his back pocket. He pulled out his scroll, and his grin receded into an immediate look of worry.

"…Sun? What's wrong?" Ghira asked with concern as he approached.

Sun looked back and forth between Ghira and the scroll, before typing a hasty response. "Blake's in trouble. She's telling me to give her an hour, and to trust her… and that makes me worry. I'm… I'm just telling her 'okay', even though I want to go after her right now."

"Good," Ghira affirmed as he rested a hand upon Sun's shoulder. "What did I tell you about Belladonna women?"

"That they're fiery and strong," Sun recalled as he stared at the text. His frown grew more intense as he awaited a response from Blake, only to find none. Sun's tail began to anxiously flick back and forth behind him as he stored the scroll back in his pocket, and looked up at Ghira.

"Correct. I don't like this, either, but I trust my daughter. All that we have left to do is wait, and be prepared in the event that she needs us. Did she give any details?"

"She's at the marketplace. I'm guessing she saw someone, or some _thing_ related to the Fang. I just… I hope it wasn't Adam," Sun said.

Ghira lifted his palm from Sun's shoulder, and moved to sit upon one of the couches. Sun followed along and folded his hands between his legs as he hunched over, staring intently at a nearby potted plant as Ghira spoke.

"I doubt that that is the case," Ghira said. "From what little she has told me of her time with Adam, she seems… scarred. Permanently impacted, and absolutely terrified of him. To be completely honest, I can understand why."

"He hurt her. I don't know details, but… I know that he did. I want to help her, but I also don't want to overstep," Sun admitted as he shifted uncomfortably upon the couch.

"Well, you shared your story with her, did you not?"

Sun looked over to Ghira and made a noise of discomfort. "You _really_ think I should push her on this?"

"Perhaps not _push_ , no, but… _lightly_ suggest that she share some information. Offer your support, and adjust to her comfort level. I am well aware that my position as her father locks me out of any such conversations, in her mind. Therefore… I'm trusting you to take care of her needs," Ghira replied as he rested an arm atop the back of the couch.

"Right. Thank you," Sun said quickly as he began to drum his fingertips together.

"…being tense for up to an hour will do us no good. You'll exhaust yourself, and _if_ she calls upon us, you'll suffer for it. The events of this afternoon were already draining," Ghira admonished. Sun let out a groan, and slumped his shoulders.

"I know, I know, but what am I supposed to do? I'm going to be worried sick until she texts back, or her time's up. There's gonna be no taking my mind off of it, Ghira. She means too much to me."

"Then redirect your energy to benefit her, in the future. I may be able to provide you with something of use," Ghira stated. "You have yet to meet Adam, correct?"

"Right," Sun replied. "And it's probably a good thing, too. My instinct would be to beat him into paste, for what he's done. I get the feeling that would end badly."

" _Very_ badly, without a solid plan," Ghira warned. "Adam is a skilled fighter, and several years your senior. He has seen battlefields since his early teenage years, and has the experience, skill, and semblance to see him through just as many more. He may be irrational, quick to anger, and… a terrible man, but his skill in combat should be respected, especially by his opponents."

Sun furrowed his brows at the news, and exhaled sharply through his nose. "…what _is_ his semblance?"

"Rather complicated, and dangerous. Adam is capable of absorbing concussive energy within his sword, Wilt. The more punishment he receives and stocks away, the deadlier his sword becomes when it is unleashed. He will wait until the moment is right, and then draw the blade in an unstoppable, terrible slash capable of sundering anything in its path. I have seen him cleave boulders, vehicles, even sections of buildings with enough built-up energy. Landing glancing hits and blocked strikes is a surefire way to simply hand him a victory," Ghira said as he shook his head. "If you strike him, it needs to be accurate and decisive. Anything less gives him more and more of an advantage."

"Is he good enough to block bullets with that thing?" Sun asked as he began to feel sick.

"Good enough, and smart enough to bait as much ammunition as he can for an easy victory. If ever you encounter him, it is best to simply run, if you can. Failing that… strike him as little as possible, unless you have a clear opening."

The room fell silent as the wind picked up again and battered against the paper balcony doors. Sun's mind raced as he tried to think of something that could give him an advantage, but he came up with nothing.

"How long can he store that energy? What happens if he doesn't use it?"

"That… actually, I do not know," Ghira admitted. "I would imagine that it would dissipate over time, but… I would not bet on it, just in case."

"Well, at least I know how it works. Kinda. If it comes down to it, I'll get Blake out of there and hold him off as best I can. He's taken too much from her, already," Sun stated with a firm resolve. Ghira looked at him with an obvious sadness in his eyes, before turning his gaze away from Sun.

"…thank you. Blake is my world."

"Mine, too," Sun said with a sigh. "Guess we're a team, on this one."

"…or a family," Ghira suggested. Sun offered him a weak smile, and then convulsed wildly as his back pocket vibrated once again. "So much for letting go of your tension."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll work on that," Sun answered flippantly as he read the new message. He let his thumbs dance across the scroll as he let out a huge sigh of relief. "She's okay, and coming home. Big news, apparently." Sun stood up, and continued to type. "Are you coming?"

Ghira paused to consider the offer, and instead waved a hand from his position upon the couch. "As I said before… I trust you to handle it. Do what you think is best for Blake, and fill Kali and I in as needed, tomorrow morning." Ghira offered a massive hand, and Sun took it to shake.

"Got it. I won't let you down. G-man."

"Mm. One more thing," Ghira interjected as he let his grip fall.

"Sure?" Sun inquired.

"…don't _ever_ call me 'G-man' again, or I may break your fingers."

"Message received. I've got this," Sun reassured as he headed for the office door, and pushed through it. He looked up as the sound of rain pounding on the roof began to echo in the hallway, and picked up his pace as he headed for the staircase.

Sun withdrew his scroll from his shorts as he walked, and reread the conversation with Blake again before flicking over to his previous talk with Ilia. He hesitated as he began to head down the steps, and decided to contact her once again.

 _Hey, you still here? Blake's coming home in a few, and something just happened. I think it may involve the Fang._

By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, a reply had already arrived.

 _I'm literally looking out the balcony door. I was ready to leave, but it's storming like hell outside to the point where I honestly don't even know if I can._

Sun picked up his pace as he made his way through the dining hall and jogged into the foyer. He used one hand to throw the front door of the estate open as he texted with the other, and recoiled slightly as he was met with sheets of rain cascading mere feet from the doorstep, beyond the overhang.

 _Stay. I think the three of us should talk, especially if the Fang is involved. Meet us outside of Blake's room?_

Sun narrowed his eyes as he saw a figure running toward the house in the distance, and let his eyes move down to check his scroll one final time.

 _Fine, but if this goes south, it's your fault. Also, I'm terrified of thunder and if you make fun of me, I'll kick your fuzzy ass._

Sun rolled his eyes as he pocketed his scroll and stepped out to stand on the landing beneath the overhang. Blake sprinted up the steps and leapt the final few feet between them to trap Sun in a hug. She buried her soaked face into his shoulder, and Sun immediately clasped her in a tight embrace as he held her slightly off the ground.

"What happened?" he asked in a gentle voice. "I'm here, Blake."

"It's Adam. Adam's close, and… he's coming to Kuo Kuana, _soon_ ," Blake said quickly as she squeezed his shoulders.

Sun hissed as he felt the freezing water clinging to Blake seep into his bandages, but did little else to stop her. "We'll figure it out. Let's get inside, and get you changed. You're soaked…"

"Just… please don't let go of me," Blake begged as she broke the hug and trailed a hand down to clasp Sun's. He looked her over, and found that her facial expression was one of sheer misery.

"Never ever," Sun replied with a cheesy smile as he guided her into the manor and pulled the door closed. Blake sniffed and rolled her eyes at his efforts, before bringing her free hand up and pushing a few sopping strands of hair out of her face.

"How are you feeling? Physically, and otherwise, I mean," she asked as they began to walk, hands clasped.

"Are you serious right now?" he asked in disbelief. "It doesn't matter."

"It _does_ matter. Even with this, you're on my mind," Blake said as she lifted the shopping bag with the shirt and passed it over to him. Sun accepted the gift, and shook his head.

"Blake, this is about you, right now. You were already my rock today, now let me be yours."

"Relationships are give and take, Sun. I already told you it's the Sun Show, from here on. I'm home, I'm safe, and I'm with you, s-"

"And you're dealing with _Adam_ , coming here soon. He's your biggest hurdle, and I'm not letting this one go. I'm the master of deflecting my own issues for someone else's sake, and I'm not about to let you steal my job," Sun half-joked as Blake's ears wilted.

"…then… we'll make a brief diversion to talk about it, once we get to my room," she said as they reached the top of the stairs together.

"Good. We've gotta find balance, right? Oh, and uh… Ilia's here. So, that's a thing," Sun stated as he looked over to the wall. His face grew hot as he felt Blake glaring holes through his cheek.

" _Why?_ " she insisted as she squeezed Sun's hand hard enough to be painful.

"She, uh, came to me, after you went out. We sorted things out between us, and we're cool. I set her up with Kali to reconnect, and… I sorta told her to stay, for this one. We need our inside girl here, if it involves Adam and the Fang," Sun finished.

"…you're an _ass_ ," Blake stated matter-of-factly as Sun finally dared to look at her again.

"So I've heard," Sun replied with a smile that he couldn't fight back.

"We're not talking about my issues with Adam if Ilia's here, but I'll fill both of you in on what happened, and what I know," Blake warned as they rounded the corner and found Ilia leaning against the wall outside of the bedroom.

"That's fair," Sun said with a nod as he caught sight of their informant. "Hey, girl, long time no see," he joked in a singsong voice as he offered Ilia a fist bump. The chameleon made a disgusted face as she begrudgingly touched her fist to Sun's, and pushed off the wall to stand straight.

"…you are _so_ stupid," she shot back at Sun as she turned her eyes to Blake. Her face fell as she looked over her sodden friend, and her tone of voice changed from annoyance to genuine worry. "Blake, let me get you a towel, a-"

"I'm _fine_ ," Blake lied as she strutted past Ilia and into the bedroom.

Sun shook his head to Ilia as he followed, and made note of her crestfallen expression. "She's not fine. Grab that towel, and I'll chip away at this." Ilia nodded and shifted her skin tone as she set off down the hall. Sun stepped into the bedroom proper, and chose his words carefully as he added a bit of an edge to his voice.

"…Blake. Please, try not to be so abrasive to her? I know she did some _really_ shitty things to us, and in general, in the White Fang, but she's really trying to make up for it. I believe her. Don't you?"

"I don't know, Sun," Blake said as she turned to face him. "I want to. I really do, but… I need _time_."

"I know you need time, but can you try to let up a bit, while you take that time? Ilia's really got no one, but us. What if I'd never found you, when you had that falling out with Weiss? Imagine how she must feel, right now," Sun insisted as he approached her. Slowly, he began to unbutton her shirt, and helped her roll off the clinging garment as she moved her arms to help him. "This is the best opportunity you're ever going to get to rebuild that bridge."

Blake opened her mouth to reply, only to pause as Ilia appeared once again in the doorway holding a large, fluffy, beige towel and freshly scarlet scales. She lingered for a moment and eyed up Blake in her damp bra, before coughing hard and turning her head to the side as she offered the towel to Sun.

" _Uh_ … should I come back, or…"

"Just… turn around," Blake instructed as she gave Ilia a conflicted look. She watched as Ilia turned completely to face the door, and then gave Sun a quick glance before she unhooked her bra and simply let it fall to the ground.

Sun practically felt his brain stop working as he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from Blake's chest, and he sputtered in disbelief as he watched her step out of her boots and unzip her pants. She rolled down and kicked away the offending garment as she stood before him, wearing only black boyshorts and a mischievous smirk as she draped the towel over her shoulders and turned to walk toward the chest of drawers against the wall.

With a cough of his own, Sun watched as Blake dried herself with the towel and removed a new red nightie from the drawers. She made an agonizingly slow show of putting it on as Sun watched, and he cleared his throat, but not his thoughts, as he turned to Ilia.

"…alright, you're good."

Ilia blinked in confusion as she turned, and caught sight of Blake's new outfit as she made her way to sit upon the bed. Sun joined her side and set the bag with the shirt beside the bed, his face still a furious crimson enough to match Blake's negligée. Realization struck Ilia as she caught sight of the bra, boots, and pants on the floor, and she shifted her weight as she awkwardly folded her arms and looked away.

"This… is going to be a _long_ night, isn't it?"

"Yes. Yes it is," Sun told her with a sympathetic look.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I've been really sick the past week and a half or so, and I feel the urge to pass out early tonight and sleep in late tomorrow, so have a _very_ early Thursday night update instead of Friday morning, just in case I wake up super late.

We've hit over 100 reviews! Thank you all so much for the input and commentary- it's great to read and very interesting to see what people are picking up on, in regards to certain things.

I'm glad that Cinnamon is coming across as layered, as she is going to be _very_ important as the story goes on. I want to keep Adam's mad bull characterization while adding a little more depth, and making Cinnamon into the more manipulative, behind the scenes 'villain' within the White Fang. I'm sure some of you have already figured out what her purpose is in the grand scheme of this story, but for those who haven't, it's going to be a fun ride.

Next update on Monday, the 25th.

 **-RD**


	28. Strain

Sienna narrowed her eyes and drew her red traveling cloak up and in front of her face as she disembarked from the ship and set foot into the sand. The vessel rocked and creaked in the high winds as it was battered by the burgeoning storm, and Sienna spared a glance back to the boat as droplets of rain beat gently upon her hood. She growled in annoyance as her two guards took position beside her and stood at attention, awaiting orders.

"This damnable island… where is Adam? I want this taken care of _immediately_ , and then, we return home. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," the two masked men said in unison as they set out. The guard to her right stepped forward to take the lead, and kept his hand on the holster of his gun as he walked. "This way."

Sienna moved to follow, her sandals sinking into the dampened sand as she walked. A crack of lightning brought the gates of the island fortress into visibility, as well as the array of guards positioned outside. Ten faunus stood, each armed with high-caliber guns and wearing masks as they awaited the approaching party. Sienna's guard approached the gate and offered a respectful bow, which the two faunus at either side of the large portal returned.

"The High Leader has arrived to speak with Adam Taurus."

"You are expected," came the reply as the guards pulled the gate open. They struggled to move the giant wooden door against the unrelenting wind, and Sienna moved toward the partially open gate before the pair could finish their duty. With a curt nod to each of them, she slipped through into the encampment, and passed her guards as she headed directly for the tent at the center.

The massive structure stood in stark contrast to the rest of the seemingly run-down camp, and Sienna scowled as she regarded the opulence of the red leather flaps. Each bore Adam's own insignia, and each was far larger than necessary as an entranceway. Sienna huffed while she pushed her way inside, and pulled down her hood as she found Adam standing at the far side of the tent, along with Fennec Albain.

"What exactly is the meaning of this?" Sienna began as she folded her arms. Her guards made their way into the tent behind her and took up their positions at Sienna's sides as they stood at attention.

"…of what, High Leader?" Adam intoned politely with the ghost of a smirk.

" _This!_ " she gestured outward in a rage, her hand sweeping the air around the tent. A large, black oak table embroidered with golden leaf and vine patterns stood in the center of the tent. Professionally-made maps of Mistral, Haven Academy, and Kuo Kuana lay atop the wood, as well as a pot of coffee, several cups, and an expensive-looking clock inlaid with gemstones upon the face.

" _None_ of this was given to you, nor do you have permission to indulge in such extravagant lodgings while stationed just outside of Kuo Kuana… or at all! Your brothers and sisters are in standard issue tents, and you call me out here to behold _this?_ I expect better of you, Adam!"

Adam bowed his head ever so slightly as he reached up to remove his mask. He kept his eyes on the dirt floor as he spoke, his tone oozing confidence. "High Leader, you misunderstand- these items were… _gifted_ to me from the people of Kuo Kuana, for our assistance within the village. They now see that the efforts of our agents within Menagerie have come to benefit all faunus. In addition to these upgrades, we have even attracted a human to aid us, in our next step. He's provided some weaponry, maps, and technology for the future."

Sienna's ears flattened as she bared her teeth at Fennec, who stood in the corner, silent. " _This_ is what you called me here, for? This was your 'breakthrough' that could deal with the supposed impending problem in Menagerie?"

"Actually… my human associate has joined us for an entirely different reason. He is an ally of the woman who assisted us in attacking Beacon Academy," Adam said coolly.

"Attacking Beacon Academy was a mistake," Sienna countered. "I trusted you at your word that we would receive support from your human benefactor, and I have received _nothing_. Not one shipment of supplies, not one offer of assistance…"

" _You_ have not… but _I_ have, High Leader." Adam placed his mask upon the desk and took a step forward as Sienna growled. "Finally, I am ready to continue to do what is best for our organization."

"You will do _nothing_ without my permission. Your popularity and influence among your men does not give you the ability to do as you please with my resources," Sienna spat as she stepped forward to meet Adam. "You are beginning to overstep your b-"

Sienna choked on her words as the blade of Wilt found its way through her stomach. Dark blood began to ooze from the wound, and she reached a hand up for Adam's face as she sputtered. Without warning, the blade tore its way back out of the wound, and was drawn up and across her throat. Sienna crumpled immediately and her guards stepped back, unconcerned as their former leader fell to the dirt in a messy, undignified heap.

"…simple," Adam commented as he took a rag from atop the desk and began to wipe clean the blade. He sheathed it in one clean motion, and chuckled softly. Fennec moved to Sienna's corpse and knelt low, studying her features as he watched the life drain from her eyes.

"…a necessary evil…"

"As I told you, she would never have allowed our forces to cooperate with Cinder again. Despite how… _irritating_ her constant delays up until now may have been, she is our path to making Atlas fall. Besides… my time as High Leader is long overdue," Adam said as he moved behind the desk and began to look over the maps. After a moment of contemplating the map of Kuo Kuana, his eyes flicked up to meet the waiting guards and Fennec.

"We proceed as planned. Wait another five minutes, and then retrieve the cart. Place the body in the waiting trunk and wheel it back to her ship. Scuttle it off the coast as instructed, and then return to the main encampment. Spread the word that a human ship attacked our dear leader's vessel and managed to sink it. I will handle the rest, in a week's time."

Fennec's ears twitched and he furrowed his brows. "A week? Why wait so long, High Leader? Cinder finally sent word that we can move on the Academy as soon as we are ready," he asked as he folded his hands within the sleeves of his robes.

"Because when the storm breaks, we are going to Kuo Kuana to take care of our Belladonna problem, before making our move on Haven," he replied as the blade of Wilt scraped ever so slightly upward from its sheath. " _Nothing_ will get in our way again."

* * *

Sheets of rain battered against the roof, lending a pulsating soundtrack to the otherwise silent bedroom. Blake leaned into Sun's arm and checked her nails, Sun remained still to prop her up as he looked at Ilia, and Ilia leaned against the wall by the door, keeping her distance as she occasionally spared Blake an uneasy glance. Ilia was the first to speak as she took a deep breath and let out a long, drawn-out exhale.

"So… Sun thought I should stay, since something came up with the Fang?" she inquired in a hopeful tone. "Maybe I can help, before I take these wires back and do some snooping?"

Blake lifted her gaze from her nails to Ilia and frowned, before turning her attention to Sun, instead. "Yes. I was at the marketplace, and Cinnamon stopped me. I don't know if she followed me back to the manor, or it was a chance encounter… but she filled me in on some things that are both troubling, and interesting."

Sun brought a hand up to his face and rubbed at his cheek with a groan. "Her _again?_ I thought that after Kali scared her off, we'd be done for a while. What did she want?"

Blake shook her head and wrinkled her nose as she deepened her lean into Sun. "Unfortunately, no. The really, _really_ bad news is that Adam is on his way here. He's apparently at a White Fang camp just off the coast of Kuo Kuana." Blake tensed as she spoke and then looked over to Ilia, whose face had gone ghost white. "Know anything about that?"

Ilia's eyes widened in horror at Blake's words, and her breathing quickened. "Blake… there _is_ an island fortress, used as a staging area… and he said that if he ever personally set foot in Kuo Kuana, it would be to send a message. If he's coming here, it's a direct threat. He's going to enter the village looking for blood. There's nothing I can do to stop him, or convince him, or…"

"But you're going to stand with us and fight, right?" Sun asked with steely determination. "We're not backing down, and you'll have our backs, won't you…?"

Ilia squinted her eyes shut and held her elbow with her right arm. Even through the muddied vision of black and red provided by her eyelids, she _knew_ that Blake was glaring straight through her as she awaited an answer.

"…Sun… you _know_ that when I go back to that camp, I'll be expected to join whatever raiding party Adam sets up. He's going to want me involved in wreaking havoc in the village, and I'm going to have to play along. I can't just take him out with Corsac, Fennec, Cinnamon, and countless grunts watching from every an-"

"Answer the question, Ilia," Blake demanded. She seethed with rage as Ilia opened her eyes, only to find Sun rising from the edge of the bed and beginning to walk toward her.

"I have to keep up the façade. As soon as it's safe, I'll… I'll make it known that I'm standing with you. I'll need both of you to create a reasonable opening, and hopefully that's enough to catch him off guard…" Ilia trailed off as Sun scooped her into yet another hug, and she found her arms automatically wrapping around his back.

" _Hey_ ," Sun began. "That's realistically all we can ask. It takes a lot of heart to even consider helping us out, and I know it's a big risk. So long as you promise to keep your word, I trust you." Sun finished by giving her a gentle squeeze, which Ilia returned. Gingerly, she peeked around Sun's arm and looked over to Blake.

"…do _you_ trust me?"

Sun released his grip and turned to stand beside Ilia as Blake rose and began to approach. Neither faunus felt comfortable breathing as Blake made her way across the room, her ears back and eyes blazing. Upon reaching the duo, Blake shook her head, and looked down at the floor.

"…Ilia. This is your one, _final_ chance to prove to me that we can move forward as anything more than enemies. If you remain at his side when we need you most… I will hunt you. I will make you hurt worse than you ever have in your _life_ , both physically, and emotionally. I will find a way to make you regret every breath you've taken since you joined the White Fang, and I will feel _nothing_. Swear to me," Blake commanded.

"I swear," Ilia said with an immediate nod.

"Swear to me by your parents' graves, and mean it," Blake replied as she narrowed her eyes. Ilia's own broke their hold on Blake's as her facial scales streaked with blue, and Sun put a heavy hand on Blake's shoulder. He grit his teeth as he felt how tense she was, and started in on admonishing her.

" _Blake!_ Come on, ease up! Don't bring them in-"

"…I swear. On my parents' graves," Ilia interrupted as she kept her eyes on the door. Her voice cracked slightly as she continued. "Is that enough for you, or do you want to bring up something else equally painful?"

Blake's ears shifted from straight back to drooped as she, too, looked off to the side. She closed her eyes as she felt Sun's hand begin to rub on her shoulder, though her level of tension remained. Begrudgingly, she offered her hand along with a ragged whisper. "I'm… sorry, okay? I'm on edge right now, and everything's happened so fast that it's all starting to become too much."

Ilia took the hand and finally looked back to Blake, her cheek scales still a powder blue. "I know. I can live with it. I'm used to worse treatment."

Sun gave Blake a worried look. "Alright, girls, let's not turn this into something even more terrible than it already is. Sure, maybe things aren't great right now, but this is step one, right? We're making progress."

"Progress…" Blake repeated as she lightly shook Ilia's hand. The smaller girl offered a hesitant smile to Blake, and then Sun as she nodded. Ilia's scales kept the soft cornflower tint, and Sun couldn't help but frown at the sight.

"See? There we go. Now, how about we all just sit down on the bed, and hang out for a bit? I mean, once the business side of everything is sorted," Sun suggested. He led the way to the bed and Ilia followed, before Blake brought up the rear and the two sat down beside him. As the pair made it to the mattress, Sun's stomach let out a low growl. He flopped backward onto the mattress with a groan, and put his hands on his abdomen. "…sorry."

Blake raised a brow at the noise, and stood up from the bed once again. "Come to think of it, neither of us has eaten anything since this morning."

"I can go and grab us all something from the kitchen," Ilia offered. "I… haven't exactly been keeping up, either…"

"The less you're out and around the halls with Dad here, the better," Blake countered. "I'll go."

"Alright. I really am going to have to talk to him at some point, though," Ilia added as she watched Blake make her way to the door.

"Wait until after all of this business with Adam blows over. He'll be more accepting once there's concrete proof that you're with us," Blake finished as she slid back the door, and disappeared into the hallway. Ilia sighed and Sun sat up to place an arm around her shoulders.

"Sorry she's so… _touchy_. We're both reaching our limits. It's just bad timing."

Ilia shook her head, and looked over at Sun. "No, it's not _just_ bad timing. Like I told you before, I deserve all of this. I saw this coming. Blake doesn't just let grudges go. So… watch yourself," she added with a weak smile. Sun dropped his arm, and returned the gesture.

"I had a feeling. How'd it go with Kali?"

"Good," Ilia replied. "It's… in a way, it's almost like I never left this place. She still treats me like I'm her second daughter, the towels are in the same hall closet… even this bed is just like I remember it. But… something's missing."

"A sense of family, I'd imagine? Safety?" Sun tried as he shifted to cross his legs beneath himself.

"Something like that, yes… but maybe I'm finding it somewhere else. Thanks for not dropping 'little sis' in front of Blake, by the way," Ilia said with an appreciative tone.

"No way. That's just for us, for now. Maybe later, once Blake isn't so… catty," Sun joked as he swished his tail behind himself.

"Stop. No faunus puns, or I _will_ shock you again, and I won't even feel bad about it."

"The scale of this situation is pretty big," Sun continued.

"Sun."

"What? I'm not monkeying around, i-"

" _Sun_."

"Oh, fine. You're no fun," Sun accused as he jabbed her in the side with the tip of his tail. Ilia squirmed and balked at the accusation, before batting the fuzzy appendage away.

"Puns are the worst, and I'm really not in the mood. _Speaking_ of 'in the mood', did she _really_ just flash her tits to you, earlier?" Ilia asked with a sly smirk.

Sun's face flushed scarlet as the tip of his tail spasmed, and he shifted uncomfortably on the bed. "…uh. _Yeah_."

"What, not impressed? You're lucky," Ilia added as she punched him in the shoulder. Sun looked over to her and clasped the back of his neck, conflicted.

"No, it's not that, it's just… isn't it a little _weird?_ She was in panic mode when she got back to the house over Adam, and now, she's swinging between moods like it's her job," Sun explained.

"Yeah, it _is_ weird. If I had to guess, she's trying to divert your attention from the situation, and make you think about her _situations_ , instead. Probably some kind of avoidance tactic. Be careful," Ilia said as the door slid back once again to reveal Blake. The smug expression disappeared from Ilia's face immediately as she pushed herself slightly away from Sun with an awkward cough.

"Stop cuddling up to my boyfriend," Blake commanded in a deadpan as she rolled her eyes.

Ilia's scales finally shifted from blue to red as she smiled, and folded her arms beneath her chest. "At least I'm not a threat, right?"

"Ugh, _whatever_ ," Blake shot back as she rolled her eyes.

Blake approached the bed with a tray held aloft and three glasses of water clasped together by the lips in the other hand. Sun slid backward to make room as the large plastic circle was placed upon the mattress, and Blake hopped up to form a triangle around the bounty of food and utensils atop it. She placed the glasses on the nightstand, and cracked her neck as the trio looked over the platter. A spread of crackers, fancy cheese logs, deli meats, sushi, and various condiments and toppings made up the offerings of food, and Sun rubbed his hands together in a cartoonish manner as he leaned over the assortment, his face still red.

" _Wow_ , this is… how'd you throw all of this together so fast?" he asked as he picked up a cracker and examined it with a little too much interest. Blake hiked a brow at his crimson cheeks, but said nothing of them as she shrugged.

"Oh, Mom keeps a few of these pretty much ready to go in storage, in case important guests stop by. Dad always said that food buys time in awkward conversations, and it's a useful tool," Blake explained.

"…a useful tool?" Ilia asked, halfway through spreading some cheese atop a cracker of her own.

Blake turned toward Sun and shot him a sultry gaze as he was in the middle of chewing. "So, you've seen me topless. When, exactly, are you returning the favor with your shorts?"

Sun immediately began to choke and reached for the water, before taking a long swallow. Ilia snorted with laughter as his cheeks burned, and he finally set the glass down, unamused.

"A: Not even close to being on the same level, and B: _Not_ cool, Blake. I could've died!"

"See what I mean? Pin people in uncomfortable positions while they're eating, and gain the upper hand. Mom's a master at it," Blake stated with pride. Ilia tilted her head as she watched Blake's face twitch in an odd manner, and shot a worried look to Sun. He avoided her eyes as he took another long drink.

"I'm not at all surprised. Speaking of uncomfortable conversations… you said Cinnamon told you something interesting?" Ilia asked as she began to pile another cracker with cheese and meat.

"Right," Blake agreed as she began to pick at the sushi. "Cinnamon pulled that same routine that she did when we confronted her at her house, Sun. She reminded me again that she doesn't like hurting faunus, and when I tried to call her on attacking Haven… not only did she not deny it, but she said that she _wouldn't_ build explosives, or anything else if they were going to hurt our kind."

"Huh," Sun considered as he ate. "Well, at least she's consistent."

" _Very_ consistent," Ilia affirmed. "I've personally watched her torture humans, and even kill a few… but the second a faunus gets in her way, she folds. She'll let others do the job for her, but she definitely doesn't _like_ it when that happens."

"So, we at least know she's not lying, in terms of that," Blake began. "What I _am_ curious about, though, is that she hinted at having some sort of plan, for the future. She said that once things reach their 'inevitable conclusion', Adam would make a good martyr, and _she_ would lead the faunus to something greater. Also, they're dating, apparently."

 _"What!?_ " Sun asked as he began to choke for the second time.

"…which part?" Blake asked.

" _Dating!_ Who would date _him?"_ Sun replied before he caught himself, and coughed even more. "I-I mean! Knowing who he is now, and what he did to you, and…"

"…smooth," Ilia added helpfully as Blake shook her head and raised a hand for silence. Her fingers shook ever so slightly, and she clasped them into a fist, hoping that the others hadn't noticed.

"I know what you meant, Sun," Blake reassured, though she didn't look amused. "Apparently the entire thing is a sham, and she's using it to get close to him."

Ilia raised a brow as she chewed. "That… doesn't seem right. She acts like she's completely loyal to him, as far as I can tell."

"And Adam acted like he was madly in love with _me_ and our relationship was perfect, when you were watching," Blake reminded her. Ilia's shoulders sank as she stared at the platter.

"…that's… true…"

"Don't feel too bad, Ilia," Sun consoled as he reached for his glass. "Adam sounds like a master bullshit artist, especially given that he's popular among the White Fang."

"Popular enough that he… may do something to Sienna. He may have both the will, and the means for a cover up, according to Cinnamon," Blake added. Ilia put down her food and folded her hands in her lap, looking upset.

"Ilia?" Sun asked.

"…Sienna is a good person. I know she's done some things that are questionable, and she's occasionally violent… but her heart's in the right place. Her methods _work_ , and she only endorses violence when it's really needed," Ilia said in a melancholy tone.

"… _Beacon Academy_ ," Blake stated icily as she narrowed her eyes.

"Was Adam's idea," Ilia replied as she gave Blake a sidelong glance. "He… managed to convince her to go with it and trust a human, just that once. She's regretted it ever since."

Sun reached for a different glass of water and offered it to Ilia, who accepted it with a small nod. "Are you close with Sienna?"

"Not… not like 'friends' or anything, no. Ever since she became High Leader, she's distanced herself from the grunts and lower-ranked members of the Fang. I look up to her, but… Cinnamon's smart, and she's good at reading people. If she thinks an opening is there for Adam to seize power, it might come from that. A lot of people think she's cold, distant, and doesn't care about the individuals of the Fang. I know that isn't true, but… Adam wears his passion on his sleeve. Even if it's… deceptive."

"You have no idea," Blake said as she gripped her glass, knuckles white. Sun looked at her with a great deal of worry, and Ilia closed her eyes as she considered her words carefully.

"…no. I don't," Ilia admitted. She paused, seemingly searching for something to say, before she brought her gaze to the wall and offered the glass back to Sun. "I… _really_ have to pee."

Without another word, Ilia gave Sun her glass as she slipped off the bed and headed to the attached bathroom. Sun set the cup down as Ilia disappeared through the door, and Blake couldn't help but smirk sadly to herself as she watched her former friend disappear.

"…wow. You're not the only one who uses that lame excuse."

"Guess not. But hey, who knows? Maybe she really _does_ have to pee." Sun slid across the sheets and cradled Blake in a tight hug as his inflection changed from joking to deeply concerned. "Blake, you're acting kinda… _strange_ , right now. Are you gonna be alright?"

The only reply that Sun received was a small shake of her head 'no' as Blake let out a pitiful sniffle and shut her eyes.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Blake's flirtatious behavior is intentionally weird, and I'm honestly glad that it's off-putting. There are definite reasons for her acting the way that she has been, but I'll let the story speak for itself in the near future.

This chapter took the most time, revisions, and edits thus far out of any of them, and it was honestly exhausting to try to get right. It always struck me as way too convenient that Sienna could be murdered in her own camp with such a flimsy coverup, regardless of Adam's 'popularity', so I tried to give her something a little more realistic in her short time in this story. She'll get _much_ more than one scene in a future story, but that's something for another time.

Next update on Thursday, the 28th.

 **-RD**


	29. Shatter

Sun slipped a hand up to the back of Blake's head, and pulled her face into his shoulder.

"You don't have to say anything, if you don't want to. I'm here."

A long silence ruled the room, before Blake began to sniffle.

"I don't know what I'm going to do when I see him, Sun," Blake whispered. "I might cry, I might scream... I _can't_ have a breakdown right now. If Ilia comes out of the bathroom and sees me looking like a mess, it's going to be bad for all three of us. I know she's trying, and I know you're trying, and… I'm trying, too. I _have_ to try to hold it together."

"You really don't," Sun protested as she squeezed her tighter. "If Ilia really cares, she'll join in and comfort you."

"I don't _want_ Ilia to comfort me, right now. I want you, Sun. No one else… but that can't happen tonight, and by tomorrow, I should be feeling okay again. I'll be back in control, and I won't let this rule me," Blake said as she shifted to give him a serious look. "But like I said, I don't know what I'm going to do when I see him. I mean that literally."

Sun shifted uncomfortably as he mulled over the statement. "Are you… _really_ going to feel okay, in the morning? Just like that? Blake, you've been acting _super_ weird, tonight. Not just to me, but to Ilia, too. It's l-"

"It's _fine_ ," Blake insisted. "I'm fine! Stop asking that! I just need to figure out what I'm going to do when we run into him."

Sun slowly nodded, and entwined his fingers with her. "You do what you need to, in that moment. If you jump in and fight, I'll help. If you hang back and watch, I'll join you. And if you feel the need to run… _run_. Just… come back to me, when it's safe? Promise me that," Sun finished.

Blake's cheeks drained of color and her ears drooped. "And if I run, what are you going to do while I'm gone?" she asked. The distressed look on her face told Sun that she already knew the answer, and likely wasn't happy about it.

"…I'll fight for you."

"I can't risk that," Blake protested as she shook her head. "I can't risk losing you. You're _everything_ to me."

"And I feel the same way, so we're at a stalemate. Just… trust me, alright? If Adam and I go head to head, I have a plan. I… _think_ it'll work," Sun said as Blake gave him an exasperated look.

"You _think_ it'll work? Sun, what are you _talking_ about?" Blake said in a strained voice. "He'll _kill_ you if you give him a single opening! What's this stupid plan you're cooking up? This isn't a game, or a time for hypotheticals."

"Don't worry about it," Sun said with a hint of offense as he gave her hand a squeeze. "It's a… last resort sort of thing, and hopefully it won't come to that. I might be able to talk him down, or at least buy you time, and then escape, myself. Focus on doing what you need to do, and let me be your knight. Have I let you down, yet?"

Blake made a frustrated noise and dug her nails into Sun's palm. He hissed in discomfort as she shot him an annoyed glare.

"No," Blake admitted. "Even so, I don't like this. I thought we weren't keeping secrets, or being evasive anymore."

"Then why are you pushing me away when I'm just trying to find out what's up with you tonight?" Sun retorted in a soft, careful tone. "I'm asking because I _care_ , Blake. Not to judge. So, what's going on? Really?"

Sun instinctively reached for Blake's hand as she slipped it from his grasp, and felt a rush of ice shoot through his veins as she slapped the hand away to stand and cross her arms. Blake narrowed her eyes to dangerous slits as she spoke slowly, her voice laced with venom.

" _Back off_."

The temperature of the air around Sun seemed to plummet as time slowed to a crawl in the silent, perilous moment that he took to consider his options. Sun stood up next to Blake and looked down at her with the most genuine expression of caring he could manage as he spoke.

"…no. Our relationship works because we're there for each other when hard times hit, whether or not the other knows we need it at the time. I'm not budging. You're clearly _not_ okay!" Sun insisted.

"Not this time!" Blake yelled as she took a step back and thrust her arms down to her sides. "I want to sort this out for myself, before I lay it all out for you!"

"And what happened the last time you decided to live in your head for a while, Blake?" Sun asked while pointing to the side of his forehead. "You split from your team, they ended up worried sick, and you were an absolute mess for _weeks!_ We can't let that happen again, especially now!"

"All I'm asking for is tonight!" Blake said as she glowered up at him and moved to scoop up her previously shed clothing. "Just let me figure this out on my own, and _then_ we can talk!"

Sun shook his head and moved slightly toward the door to block Blake as she began to walk. "What if 'just tonight' turns into another day? And then another? We don't know when Adam's going to be here, and we need to sort this out _now_."

"What don't you get, Sun?" Blake fumed as she watched him block her escape route. "I don't want to do this in front of Ilia! Besides, you think _you_ could just make everything I'm feeling go away, magically? I've been dealing with this for years."

"And yet you're still this upset just from the _thought_ of him!" Sun said with exasperation as he threw his hands out to the sides. "And also- _ouch_. You've yet to let me try. I thought I was making you feel better," he added with a disappointed look.

Blake's eyes began to well up as she locked them on the sliding door behind Sun. "…don't play this game with me. You know how much you mean to me, but I need time. I don't care if we don't have it- if I don't get it, it's going to be bad. For both of us."

Sun inhaled sharply through his nose. "Please don't say that."

" _Move!_ " Blake demanded in return. Sun took one look at her tear-stained cheeks before stepping aside and looking away as she made her way through the door. The fabric of his former shirt brushed against his shoulder as she slipped by, and Sun fought back the urge to reach out and catch her. Slowly, he brought his eyes up to meet Ilia's as she stared at him from the bathroom doorway.

"…what the hell just happened?"

* * *

Blake stood on the rooftop of the Notched Blade with her arms folded atop the railing, staring out over the village of Kuo Kuana as the wind gently rustled her hair. The cool air and gently falling rain had only served to accentuate the tears on her cheeks as she looked out at the soft lights coming from within the homes, and she let out a sorrowful sigh as her eyes drifted slowly to the Belladonna mansion and its mostly darkened windows. Slowly, she leaned down to rest her chin atop her arms, and frowned softly into the darkness.

Rushing wind tossed her hair once again, and Blake's ears flicked uncontrollably as the harsh sound and water droplets brought her physical discomfort to match her feelings. After a while of staring in silence, she straightened herself up and popped the collar of Sun's shirt to give it a soft sniff.

"…he really is trying his best, you know."

Blake's eyes widened as she whirled and aimed a punch at the speaker, only to find a drenched Ilia standing close with her hand outstretched and aimed at her shoulder. The careening fist stopped just short of Ilia's face, and Ilia cowered instinctively as she drew her hands back and used them both to shield herself.

"Blake! It's me! It's just me!"

Blake bared her teeth and heaved several angry breaths as she pulled her fist back, but kept it raised.

" _Leave_."

Ilia stood straight as she dropped her hands to her sides, and took a hesitant step forward. "No. You're going to have to hit me," she said as she took another step.

The punch connected square on Ilia's jaw and she reeled backward, clasping her hand to her cheek as she regained her balance. Blake's furious expression quickly faded to one of guilt as her ears wilted, and she unballed her fist into a shaky, loose hand.

"Ilia, I…"

Ilia raised her hand for silence as she took a few deep breaths and stood straight, looking displeased and sporting a red mark on her jawline. "I mean, I _did_ ask for it. I'm not leaving, and you can't run from me."

"I can, and I will. Did Sun send you?" Blake asked as she folded her arms.

"No, actually. He wanted to come running after you, but I stopped him. He's in tears, by the way, and completely convinced that he made a huge mistake by letting you leave the house. You left him feeling like total shit, and what you said wasn't fair. It almost sounded like you were breaking it off with him," Ilia chided as she mirrored Blake's pose.

"What? No!" Blake replied in shock. "I wouldn't… why would he…"

"It's going to be bad for both of us?" Ilia interrupted. " _Really?_ You didn't think about how that sounds to a guy who's trying to talk you down from acting insane? He _adores_ you, Blake."

Blake said nothing as Ilia huffed, and cast her eyes down to the roof below them to watch the raindrops dance against the concrete.

"…and so do I. Otherwise, I wouldn't have… been so angry, and done what I did. Sun told me you ran out on your team at Beacon, the last time things got rough with Adam. _We're_ your team, now. Call me a bitch and hit me all you want, but I'm not letting this happen again. Not to my best friend."

"Ilia, we haven't been 'best friends' in years," Blake began, only to be cut off once again.

"Oh yeah? Maybe not from your perspective, but on nights when I wasn't pissed beyond all reason at you, I laid awake thinking about the old times, when we were young. We used to do each other's makeup, braid hair, and talk about boys and dumb shit." Ilia paused. "Well, _you_ talked about boys, while I pretended to care."

Blake couldn't fight down the ghost of a smirk that crept onto her features as she met Ilia's eyes, her ears still flat. "…you were really good at that. I had no idea."

"What, that I'm gay, or that I was in love with you?" Ilia asked as she rolled her eyes.

"Both. Not for a long time, on either of them. I guess…"

"You were too distracted by kid stuff, and then _Adam_ to really notice," Ilia finished for her.

Blake visibly winced at the name, and nodded. "…yes."

"And you know what? I accepted that, because you were my best friend. Still are, to be honest. I didn't exactly get… _close_ with people in the Fang." Ilia dropped her arms and then held them out to the sides as she approached and offered a hug. Blake cast her eyes to the sky and huffed, before accepting the embrace. "That's why I'm here. I can still read you well, and I can tell that Sun is what you need… as much as I wish it could be me, instead."

Blake tightened her grip around Ilia, and groaned. "I'm sorry, alright? I just… never felt the same way. Not romantically."

"Yeah, I got that part," Ilia replied in a deadpan as she clapped Blake on the back. "I'm over it. Mostly."

"Mostly?" Blake asked as she pulled back and kept her hands on Ilia's waist.

"…well, if you dropped Sun for some reason, I'd probably try to jump you. I'm not going to pretend you didn't get hotter, or that I stopped feeling what I feel," Ilia admitted. Blake rolled her eyes, and sighed.

"At least you're honest about your feelings, I guess. I'll… go back to Sun, and apologize for putting him in an awkward spot. I know it was shitty of me, but I panicked. I'm not in a good place, Ilia… but thanks. I'm… glad you came," Blake said as she dropped her hands and turned toward the staircase. She tensed as she felt a gloved hand grip her slick wrist.

" _No,_ " Ilia replied as she tightened her grip. "You're not going anywhere, until we get to the bottom of this. It's just going to keep happening again, until you confront whatever demons you're dealing with and work up the courage to discuss it with Sun. Even if you can't do that tonight, or tomorrow, or even the next day, you need to get it out in the open and start taking steps. He's right, you know- all three of us have to be at the top of our game when Adam comes calling, and right now, the two of you are both in a rut. That ends _now_ , because this is what best friends do."

Blake turned to face Ilia once again, and frowned. "Ilia, this is exactly why I left Sun ba-"

"I don't care," Ilia interrupted. "If we can't be lovers, we can be _sisters_ , and we used to be close enough to share everything. Who do you think I'm going to snitch to? Why would I turn my back on you, after I fought so hard just to get you to look at me again? I want to know what's going on, Blake. I want to know why you're acting so… _weird_."

"Because I'm scared, Ilia," Blake offered as she walked to a nearby table and took cover from the rain beneath the umbrella speared through the center. She slipped into a seat and propped her elbows upon the surface of the table, before resting her head in her hands. Ilia joined her and sat with her legs crossed and arms folded.

"…I don't usually start flashing people when I'm scared," Ilia replied.

"Okay, first of all, that was for Sun, and Sun alone, and secondly…"

"Secondly, that was a weird choice, considering he told me that you practically sprinted home and begged him to comfort you after you heard Adam was coming. If he was so horrible, how were you _immediately_ down to start a strip show when the opportunity arose? You're not fooling us. Something's off, and you're going to tell me what, before we leave. This all seems like some kind of buildup to an explosion we can't afford, whether it's running, lashing out, or something else entirely."

Blake simply stared down at the white plastic of the table, unblinking as she took a moment to sort out her thoughts.

"…what _has_ Adam told you about our relationship?"

Ilia wrinkled her nose as she tried her best to recall. "It… well, most of it isn't exactly _nice_. He generally just acts spiteful, says things used to be perfect, and then you 'lost your mind'. Once, though, he drank a little too much, and let a few things slip."

"Things like what?" Blake asked immediately as she looked upward to meet Ilia's eyes. Ilia took note of the obvious worry within them, and spoke softly and carefully.

"…he said that you were the only one capable of calming him down when he was enraged, a-"

"How?" Blake cut in.

"How? He… never said how. Just that you did. I do know that Cinnamon's stopped trying, and just lets him have his little fits once he gets going. I don't know what the difference is… between…" Ilia trailed off suddenly, and her heart sank as she connected the dots. " _Blake…_ "

"Figured it out that fast, huh?" Blake spat as she looked back down at the table.

"I mean, considering how you acted earlier tonight…"

"I'm not proud of it, alright? And don't you _dare_ judge me," Blake fumed. "You don't know what it was like, being trapped in a room with him, alone, when something went wrong. If something made Adam angry, he was _terrifying_ … and when I finally figured out what got him to stop, I capitalized on it."

Ilia slowly slid her hand across the table, and offered it to Blake. "I wouldn't judge you over that. You're right, I don't know… and I honestly don't want to. But that's… _horrible_."

"It's my own fault," Blake said. "I enjoyed it, at first… and he _clearly_ did, too. Over time, though, he got rougher. It became less intimate, and more… an outlet, for him, and him alone. Sex just became something that solved problems, rather than what it should be."

"…and that's why you did what you did tonight. To protect yourself and shift the focus away from a problem," Ilia finished. "The things Sun told me are starting to make a lot of sense, now. Does this explain the thong on the door handle, too?"

Blake met Ilia's eyes once again immediately, and spoke quickly. "No, the thong on the door handle was a legitimate tease. I was just messing with him."

"…oh. Um… classy?"

Blake let a hand drop into Ilia's with a satisfying _thump_ , and sighed. "You know me. But anyway… yes, that's why. I know I have problems, but those aren't 'hey new boyfriend, let's discuss my sexual hang ups' problems. I'm not ready. _He's_ not ready."

"What makes you so sure?" Ilia inquired.

"I was his first kiss, and he's older than me."

"…he's not ready," Ilia confirmed as she lightly rubbed at Blake's knuckles. "But he's not ready to have his heart stomped on, either. You need to confirm with him that everything's going to be alright between the two of you, and probably apologize."

" _Definitely_ apologize," Blake corrected. "The thing is, though… even discussing this with you, it isn't going to make facing Adam easier. He holds so much over me… my _parents_ are here, Ilia, and you know he's not above using the ammunition he has against me. It's not just the actual abuse- it's the threat of _more_."

Ilia swallowed hard. "When you say abuse…"

"He hit me, occasionally, on top of what we just discussed," Blake clarified. "A lot of times, I hit back… and then we… _avoided our problems_ ," she finished. "I'm… so fucked up."

"We still love you, Blake," Ilia said as she rested her other hand atop her friend's. "You and I can work on this while I'm around, until you're ready to talk to Sun about it more. Okay?"

"…something about not being great, but making progress, right?" Blake attempted with a sad smile.

"Yeah. Whatever he said earlier," she agreed. "Go to him. Comfort him, and let him comfort you. I'll… work in the shadows, and do my part."

"Come home with me," Blake pleaded. "Just for tonight? It's pouring, and Sun probably wouldn't mind sharing my bed."

Ilia shook her head and sighed. "…I think it's best if you two have the rest of tonight, and tomorrow morning, to yourselves. Besides, this place is a Fang hideout, now, and there's a good chance Cinnamon's in one of the rooms just below here. I should go and get ready to head back, once the storm clears."

Blake stood and watched as Ilia rose with her, before trapping her friend in a tight embrace. She planted a gentle kiss on Ilia's cheek before breaking away and heaving a sigh.

"…thank you, for coming after me… and for stopping him, before it got uglier. I owe you."

"We're even," Ilia offered instead. Blake nodded, and turned to approach the railing.

"Be safe. Be _smart_ ," Blake said.

"You, too. We'll see each other again, soon."

Blake merely nodded as she leapt the railing, and disappeared into the curtains of rain.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I find it incredibly entertaining when reviews for a chapter mention anticipating something, and it's already written into the following chapter. It's hilarious how often we're thinking along the same lines.

Next update on Sunday, the 31st. Where the hell did March even go? This story is pushing 100,000 words and it's not even 3 months old. I originally thought we'd maybe hit 40,000 at best, and we're barely over the halfway point.

 _Maybe_.

 **-RD**


	30. Wind Her Up and Watch Her Go

Ilia held her rain-slicked bare arms and shivered slightly as she moved into the dimly-lit main room of the tavern. The constant pattering of rain fell out of earshot as the door swung closed behind her and was immediately replaced by an overwhelming chorus of clinking glasses, scraping stools, and the soft sound of a badly-tuned radio sitting atop the edge of the bar. Ilia avoided the eyes of the patrons that turned to look her over as she made her way toward the bar itself. She knew that most of the faces would be familiar, and she also knew that she no longer had anything to say to any of them.

The bartender, a large, burly man with a pair of goat horns, looked up at Ilia from his station as he cleaned a glass with a dingy rag.

"Amitola. Thought you'd left by now."

"I wanted to, but… the storm's keeping me in town," she said with a grimace as she leaned forward against the bar, her fingers splayed out across the wooden surface. "I need a room, for one more night. The usual, if it's still available."

The barkeep shrugged and shook his head. "It's taken, doll."

Ilia's stomach sank as she feared the worst. "So kick them out," Ilia stated with a sneer. "I'm soaked, tired, and in no mood for bullshit right now." She gestured her hand down over the counter in a sweeping motion over the pools of water forming beneath her as more and more droplets fell from her face and shoulders. A few patrons turned to give her some quizzical looks, and one moved his stool slightly farther away after the display.

"Well, sweetheart, normally I would, but I'm not looking to get my ass kicked, tonight."

" _I'm_ going to kick your ass if you stick me in some little corner room," Ilia threatened. The bartender merely rolled his eyes, and Ilia's scowl worsened as she leaned forward. "I've got a spot pretty high up on Adam's list, and he's not going to be happy if you treat me like some common grunt. Sleeping in a storm is bad enough, without being shoved into some second-rate li-"

Ilia sputtered as a fluffy white towel impacted the back of her head and draped itself over her face. Several fibers worked their way into her mouth and she made a sort of gagging sound as she worked to spit out the fabric before angrily clutching the cloth. The bartender howled with laughter as Ilia whirled, and she froze up as every muscle in her body tensed at the sight before her.

"Don't try to pull rank when bigger fish could be in the same pond, Ilia," Cinnamon lilted as she approached and mimicked the smaller girl's pose to lean on the bar. She cupped her chin in a hand with a bored look while the bartender tensed as well. Cinnamon blinked and shifted her eyes sideways to look at Ilia as she smirked. "Saw you come in, looking like a wet dog. Towel off, and maybe we can share the bed."

Ilia said nothing as she brought the towel back up over her face to hide her worried expression. She took several steadying breaths under the cover of the fabric as she listened in and tried to get a feel for Cinnamon's mood.

"So, uh, ma'am, I take it you w-want your usual?" the bartender stammered as he set down the clean glass.

"…the usual _would_ be nice… though I forgot my card in my room," Cinnamon replied as she drummed her nails against the wooden counter with a rhythm of soft clicks.

"Not a problem, ma'am. It's on the house tonight, on account of the inconvenience."

"Mm," Cinnamon mused. "It _is_ inconvenient being laid over in town for another night. Probably inconvenient for my friend, too," she added as the clicking stopped. Ilia ran the towel down over her ponytail and began to work at drying the sopping mass as she watched the remainder of the exchange with a worried look.

"…right," the bartender replied after a moment's hesitation. "Isn't she a little… you know, young?" he inquired as he let his eyes dart over to meet Ilia's. She said nothing, and the man let his eyes move back to Cinnamon as she stopped tapping her nails. One of the long, pointed spines jutting from Cinnamon's triceps twitched dangerously as she stopped drumming, and she narrowed her eyes. The bartender swallowed hard and turned as he began to work on the order.

Ilia rolled the towel into a small ball as she tried to process the interaction, and licked her lips. "…I'm okay, really…"

"Nonsense," Cinnamon replied with a wave of her hand. She brought the limb back down to the counter and began to tap her nails once again, eyes fixed on the bartender's back as she waited. "You need something to warm up, and you're right- you _don't_ need more stress, right now. It seems to me like the situation here is getting to you," Cinnamon finished with a small smirk. Ilia shivered, and unrolled the towel to drape it over her shoulders.

"…I'm not sure what you mean, Miss Shoal."

" _Cin_ ," she corrected as she fixed Ilia with a pointed look. "When I said not to pull rank, I didn't just mean _yours_." Cinnamon turned to face Ilia fully, and leaned sideways against the counter as she narrowed her eyes. "And as far as what I meant… not _here_."

"Order's up, ladies," the bartender informed as he slid two highball glasses across the counter. Ilia caught them both, and flinched at the heat of the muted brown liquid radiating through the glass into her ungloved hand. She passed the glass over to Cinnamon almost immediately, and the older woman accepted it before taking the lemon wedge off the rim and sucking it dry.

Ilia furrowed her brows in confusion as she inhaled deeply, and tried to figure out the contents of the glass. An odd, yet familiar and heady aroma filled her nostrils as she sniffed, and let out a contented sigh.

"…spiced, spiked cider," Cinnamon informed as she pushed off the counter and tossed the dried lemon wedge into a nearby trashcan. She made a beckoning motion and began to walk, as Ilia followed. "Let's get back to the room, and have a little chat."

"Sure," Ilia replied as she fell in to walk beside Cinnamon. The pair made their way toward a hallway at the back of the main room, and the conversations at tables around them lowered in volume each time they passed a new group of faunus.

Cinnamon smirked and shot a young couple a wink as they walked by, only for both of the strangers to immediately look away. She rolled her eyes and gently nudged Ilia's elbow with her own in response.

"Tell me something. Why do you think we make such an impact in an otherwise lively room, Ilia?"

Ilia looked over at her companion, only to find her expression unreadable. "I… think it's mostly you, Cin. And I think it's fear."

"Fear," Cinnamon repeated as they reached the hall. She stopped walking and made a gesture for Ilia to take the lead, only to earn a confused look. "You go first. If you walk behind me, you're liable to get a spine to the throat."

"…right. Sorry," Ilia offered as she quickly moved to take the lead. "And I don't mean anything bad by that. I think the grunts are afraid of you."

"Maybe," Cinnamon replied as she followed along. "But I don't think I'm the only one. You and I have something in common, in their eyes. We're both seen alongside Adam."

Ilia bit her lip, suddenly thankful that Cinnamon couldn't see her face. "And… what does that mean?"

"You're a smart girl, as far as I can tell. Or, at the very least, a bold one."

Ilia felt that she could sense Cinnamon's smirk from behind her, and shivered slightly as she held the door to her usual room open to let her superior pass. "…I try my best, for the Fang."

"Of course you do," Cinnamon stated plainly as she moved into the small room. Ilia joined her, and stood uncomfortably by the door after shutting it behind herself. "So, what do you _think_ it means?"

Ilia watched as Cinnamon sat upon the queen bed and began to sip at her cider. Ilia finally dared to take a drink of her own, and used the borrowed time to look briefly around the room. Everything was as she had left it- a small desk and chair, deep blue comforter atop the bed, a free-standing lamp, space heater, and projector bar for a holographic television atop a small wooden display cabinet.

"I… guess, because people are intimidated by Adam, they think we'll say something to him if they don't show us enough respect? Or they think we're as bad as he is." Ilia's hand spasmed and she nearly dropped her glass to the floor as she realized what she had said. "I-I… I don't mean 'bad' as in _bad_ , I mean, in terms of being intimidating, like in a way that…"

Ilia's stammering ramble ended abruptly as Cinnamon raised a brow. Her facial expression and tone remained neutral as she spoke, though the fact did nothing to stem Ilia's fear.

"I know exactly what you meant. Calm down, would you? I'm not going to bite your head off," Cinnamon stated as she rolled her eyes. "The reason I'm asking is because I'd like to know what you think of it. Their reactions to us, I mean. Be honest. We're friends, after all."

Ilia took a deep breath, and an equally deep drink as she placed her back against the wood of the door. "…you've _never_ called me 'friend' before. Or told me to call you 'Cin'. What's going on?"

Cinnamon shook her head with a devilish smile, and planted her free hand down into the comforter as she leaned slightly to one side. "Do people usually call each other 'friends', while the other person is standing right there? We've known each other for a few years, now, and we've never had any issues. _Relax_ , would you? Unless you'd rather I _order_ you to answer me."

Ilia's stomach twisted into knots, and she considered the option of simply turning and leaving. "You're asking me what I think about how your _boyfriend_ emanates fear among the White Fang itself. How do you expect me to act?"

"Honestly," Cinnamon replied. "If I was out to get you, I would have told him that you went after the Belladonna girl and her little beau and botched the attempt, already. I haven't, and I don't plan to. It's honestly none of my business why you bothered."

 _Because you already know_ , Ilia thought to herself as she gripped her glass with both hands and stared into the dark liquid. "…fine. If this is really 'between friends', then I think it's… I think it's a shitty way to go about things, and I wish he would stop lashing out and making everyone hesitant to even approach him. It's counterproductive and makes him look bad... and it's clearly creating tension among the lower ranks, even toward _us_."

Cinnamon let out a small chuckle and drained her glass in a long, labored chug before putting it onto the desk and returning to her casual leaning posture. "…I agree."

"…oh," was all Ilia could manage to say.

"Adam is acting more and more like a petulant child as the days go by, for any number of reasons. Unlike a child, however, he carries a sword at all times and isn't afraid to use it to make a statement. It's only a matter of time before he slips, and I'm not putting myself between that blade and whoever sends him over the edge. I've told him that it needs to stop, but he isn't listening."

"No, he isn't," Ilia agreed. "I mean, I wouldn't _dare_ to tell him to stop, but if you have, it isn't working. No offense."

"None taken," Cinnamon stated with a small wave of her glass.

"But," Ilia began, only to fall silent. Cinnamon gave her a curious look, and rotated a pointed finger to try to draw out the rest of Ilia's statement.

" _But…?"_

"I-it's nothing," Ilia stammered as she folded her arms and looked over to the side.

"…it's clearly _not_ nothing," Cinnamon said. Ilia looked back over as Cinnamon's tone changed significantly- all hints of amusement and playfulness had left her voice, and she spoke in a pointed, serious way that Ilia seldom heard. "What happened?"

Ilia wrinkled her nose and sucked in a breath, before blowing it out between her lips in an effort at calming herself. "…the last time I was there, I found a body. One of ours, I mean. White Fang legs sticking out from beneath the flaps of Adam's tent, and a pool of blood. I don't know what happened, but he killed one of our own. That _can't_ have been the only one."

Cinnamon's usual smirk turned down into a scowl as she spoke, her voice heavy and harsh. " _Fear_ is a useful tool, but one that should be reserved for enemies. You understand tools pretty well in your job of tactical entry, don't you? Things to be _used_ to finish what you can't, alone," Cinnamon mused.

Ilia swallowed, and merely took another sip.

"If the wrong tool is used for the wrong job, it just makes things harder… or, in some cases, ends up hurting you. _Adam_ is just pulling the first thing he finds and forcing a fit, every time, for all jobs in and outside of the Fang. Real respect isn't built on fear, and without respect, the White Fang isn't going to grow or succeed beyond our current sphere of influence. Turning to humans isn't the answer, and neither is crushing dissent under a boot heel. If what you're saying is true, he's digging his own grave… and I'm not surprised. The future of the White Fang lies within a tactical mind," Cinnamon finished.

"So why bring me into this? Why tell me anything about your thoughts, or… criticize Adam's methods in front of me? Do you think I can do something to help fix this?" Ilia asked, afraid of the answer she might receive.

"Not just yet, and not directly, no. For the most part, I wanted to know if we're thinking along the same lines. I'm glad that we are," Cinnamon said. "It's good to see that someone with their head on straight is among the higher-ups."

Ilia tried to recall all of the things that Blake had told her about her encounters with Cinnamon as she nodded her head, unsure. "…I could say the same. It seems to me like you really care about the Fang as a whole, functioning unit, and the faunus in general. I feel like some people lose sight of that while they're with us, and just focus on retaliatory anger."

"So, you're saying that Adam is one of those people," Cinnamon stated plainly. Ilia wrinkled her nose as she looked back down into her glass to avoid Cinnamon's burning orange eyes. The older woman chuckled and rose into a stretch, raising her arms above her head as she flexed her finned spines up and outward to their limits.

"Well, Ilia, I think it's a good idea that we get some rest. Take the room. I've got plenty of places I can head off to, and you've been on edge, lately," Cinnamon said as she moved toward the door. Ilia stepped out of the way and watched as the other faunus twisted the handle and took a step into the hallway. "I think it's time I take a more _direct_ approach to do what's right for us, instead of letting things continue as they are. I'll be expecting your support, Amitola."

"What do you see in him?" Ilia blurted before she could stop herself. Cinnamon paused mid-stride as the question lingered uncomfortably in the air. She turned her head to look at Ilia over her shoulder, and smirked.

"…opportunity," Cinnamon said vaguely before making her way off into the hall.

Ilia downed the rest of her cider as she began to feel the gentle buzz inside of her skull. She closed her eyes and shook her head as she made her way to the bed and flopped down atop it.

"…what the hell have I gotten myself into…"

* * *

Sun groaned and squirmed as he slowly opened his eyes, only to find his field of vision taken up almost entirely by a pillowcase. He shifted his weight as he gradually pushed up from the mattress to find both that he was laying upon his stomach, and that he seemed heavier than he was used to.

"Wha…?" Sun stated groggily as he craned his neck and looked over his shoulder, only to find a sleeping Blake clinging tightly to him with her arms draped over his collarbone.

Sun let out a massive sigh of relief as he let himself flop back into the bed. A feeling of warmth and comfort rushed through his entire body at the sight of Blake, and he closed his eyes once again as his face hit the pillow.

"Mmf?" came the call from behind Sun as Blake stirred atop him. Sun remained silent, hoping to buy himself some time to simply lay there and bask in Blake's embrace.

"…Sun? Are you awake?" came the groggy question from over his shoulder.

"…yeah," he said. The hoarseness of his voice caught him off guard, and Sun blinked several times as he cleared his throat. Slowly, he shifted to lay upon his back as Blake adjusted herself to lay atop his bare chest, the pair of them beneath the blankets. It wasn't long before their eyes met; Sun's full of worry, and Blake's full of guilt.

"Sun, I am _so_ sorry I-"

"No," Sun interrupted as he found his voice once again. "Please, don't. I get it. I'll back off. I pushed too hard, a-"

Blake arched her back and leaned up as she planted a palm firmly into Sun's chest, and the other over his mouth. "Stop. Ilia caught up to me, and she talked me down from being a bitch. I'm still not ready to talk about _everything_ , but I shouldn't have run out, either." She leaned down and replaced her palm with her lips, and Sun gratefully accepted the exchange as he reached up and traced his hands under the veil of her nightie. He gently began to run his palms along the flesh of her back as the kiss deepened, and suddenly broke.

"Just, please never scare me like that again. I thought you were going to leave me," Sun confessed as he moved a hand up to play with Blake's hair.

"I never meant for you to think that. The only way I would leave you now is if you turned out like Adam… and you're his exact opposite. You're… different," Blake settled on, as she looked away.

"Different?" Sun asked, as Blake's cheeks flushed pink. She shook her head, causing her tresses of hair to tickle at his neck.

"…please don't. I shouldn't have said anything. It's… dumb."

"Even if it's dumb, I still want to hear it. I'd say you owe me, after last night," Sun teased. His tail extended, unseen beneath the sheets, and wound its way gently up and around Blake's thigh. Her eyes widened as she shivered, and dug her nails into his chest. Sun flicked the tip of his tail across her flesh, and Blake squeaked and quivered.

"A-alright, _fine_ , but this stays between us, forever."

"Of course," Sun reassured as he rested his hands on her hips with a lazy smile.

Blake's eyes flicked back and forth between Sun's own and the pillow beneath his head as she began to speak, carefully choosing her words.

"You're… _gentle_. Your touch, your words… just, everything about you. It's a combination of gentle and subtle that's uniquely _you_. It's like a warm summer breeze. Comforting, all-encompassing, and unmistakable for anything else once it has its hold on you. Being with you is like having a warm, fluffy robe against my skin, at all times. It's a heavenly feeling of sanctuary that fills me with contentment. Your smile and touch are enough to make me fold in almost any situation. No one else can do that to me," Blake finished as she slipped a kiss onto Sun's jawline.

"…I wish you would show this side of yourself more often," Sun said with a soft smile. "You have such a way with words, when you want to."

"I save it for when it's important," Blake said as she wrapped her arms around Sun's back and lowered herself to rest atop him. "I don't like doing it, either. It's… _embarrassing_."

"Well, I'm never going to judge or say anything negative about it, and it's nice to hear. What if you did it privately? You could probably write some pretty cool poetry, or something," Sun mused as he brought his lips to hers once again.

Blake peppered Sun with kisses, and spoke hastily between a pair of them. "…I _do_ write poetry."

Sun tilted his head back to allow room to speak, and Blake settled for kissing her way down his neck, instead. "Well, you've gotta let me read it, sometime."

"No. Absolutely not," Blake said as she finished her appreciation of his neck and let out a small yawn.

"…I'll convince ya, eventually. For now, though, how about we sleep in, and have a lazy day?"

"That sounds amazing right now," Blake admitted as she closed her eyes. Sun fought back a nervous laugh as Blake's ears tickled against his neck, and he followed up her yawn with one of his own. "Good… morning, Sun."

"…good morning, Blake. Here's to a better afternoon," he said before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep once more.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Intrigue and fluff in one neat little package.

Next update is on Wednesday, April 3rd.

 **-RD**


	31. A Promise Kept

_"Sun_."

Sun squirmed and let out a frustrated noise as he buried his face back into the crook of his elbow. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter as he tried to ignore the voice from above, with little success.

" _Suuuuuun._ Come on, we need to get up."

"Mmf," he replied as he took the pillow and placed it atop his head. He flexed the soft material around the back of his skull, and groaned.

"It's already noon. My parents probably think we're dead."

"Let them have some mystery in their lives, and let me sleep," Sun whined in a muffled voice from beneath the pillow. He tensed as he felt icy hands crawl along the muscles of his back, and up toward his left shoulder.

"I'd rather not. Besides, we need to talk a bit. I still don't feel right about how things were left last night."

Finally, Sun relented and pull the pillow from his head as he spun to lay upon his back. Blake shifted upon him and settled in once again atop his chest with a lazy smile and lidded eyes.

"Afternoon, beautiful."

"Hey, handsome," Blake shot back. "Are you really still that tired?" she asked with concern as she moved her hands back up to Sun's shoulder and began to undo his bandages.

"I really am that tired, yeah. Sorry," Sun admitted with a sigh.

"Again, stop that. You're good. I just want to know the truth. Are you okay?" Blake asked as she offered a kiss.

"Been better, but… getting there. Improving, now that you're back. I was so worried…"

"I know," Blake said as she placed a finger to Sun's lips. "I handled that about as badly as possible, but… pressure's building. For both of us."

"And it shows no signs of stopping," Sun agreed. "Can we just lay in bed? Together? Like… _all_ day?"

Blake rolled her eyes, and reached to the half-finished platter of food on the nightstand. She placed the tray unceremoniously atop Sun's chest, and smirked as he tried to shift a bit to prop himself up with pillows while balancing the platter.

"There. Now, we never need to move again, until I ask you something uncomfortable and you pretend to need to pee," Blake teased.

"…I kinda do, honestly. It's a 'just woke up' thing, not an excuse thing. This time, anyway," he confessed as he took a cracker and popped it into his mouth. "How _did_ it all go with Ilia, last night? Things were a little scattered when you came in."

Blake heaved a sigh as she picked up a cracker of her own and began to pile it with various toppings. "It was… not fun, to say the least. She basically did the same thing you did, but also threw in a bit of uncomfortable truth from our childhoods. We're… okay, again. It's nice."

Sun smiled, and yawned. "That's good to hear, honestly. She's good people, as far as I can tell… and I think I'm a pretty good judge of character. After all, I ended up with you."

"I… listen, Sun, one of the things Ilia was insistent about was the fact that both of you are trying your best for me. I want you to know that I'm trying, too. Trying to be better, and let you in, and just… fix myself. I have a lot of problems, hang ups, and just… complications," Blake said as she offered the stacked cracker to Sun. He accepted it, and took a bite.

"I mean, I'm seeing improvements every day," Sun reassured. "I knew you had it in ya. I'm just glad to see that you agree, instead of pushing back and throwing your hands up."

Blake's ears wilted as she stole a piece of sushi from the tray, and got to work on unwrapping his other arm. " _I know_ , Sun. I know I used to be different, and not in a good way. I'm… actually more like myself than I have been in years, thanks to you."

"And… Adam's largely to blame for the period when you were lost. Right?" Sun asked carefully.

"…yes. And before you ask, no, I'm not ready to discuss it. I talked to Ilia a little bit, and I'm going to work through it with her, before I bring you into it. It's nothing against you, Sun, it's just… extremely personal, heavy, and… bad. Really, really bad," Blake warned as she took another piece of sushi.

Sun shifted the tray off of himself and back onto the nightstand as he sat up, and crossed his legs. "How bad are we talking, here?"

Blake eyed the platter longingly, and moved from her position atop Sun's legs to sit beside him. "Pretty bad. I have some… sexual… _quirks_ that I don't want to talk about yet."

A hot blush made its way across Sun's cheeks as his tail flicked from side to side. "Like… uh, ropes? And stuff?"

"…I am going to slap you so hard in half a second," Blake warned as she looked away, her own cheeks ablaze. " _No_ , Sun."

"Well what did you expect me think, when you phrase it like that!?" Sun whined.

"Just… _no_. I'm talking about things that make it weird for me to even consider, and yet… we end up with situations like getting topless while Ilia's in the room," Blake explained.

"Yeah, about that…" Sun began.

"No, _not_ about that. That's the entire problem. I'm not comfortable getting into it, and I just… I need you to accept that sometimes, I'm going to do stupid things that don't make sense. I'm sorry for sending mixed signals, but it's just… like that. I'll elaborate as soon as I'm comfortable," Blake said as she flopped back onto a pillow.

"…okay," Sun replied, unsure. "I mean, I'll roll with the punches, and I'm cool with anything. I just hope that you feel comfortable enough to talk to me in time," he finished as he slipped off of the bed and into a stretch.

"I will. I promise, Sun. I just need time, and… both of you, to help me through it," Blake admitted as she stretched out. "Go do your thing, then I'll check your wounds, and we'll sort out the day. I still want to focus on you, starting now. Seriously, this time."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Sun replied as he made his way toward the bathroom. "Slow and steady."

Blake breathed a sigh and allowed herself a small smile as the door closed. "… _finally_ steady."

* * *

"Oh, just open the damned gate and stop with the formalities. You can _see_ us, can't you?"

"Y-yes, ma'am," the guard stammered as he offered one final, informal bow of his head. Cinnamon put her hands on her hips as she watched the large wooden doors be pulled apart by the sentries at either side, and let out a small huff.

"Honestly. Every single time, as though they need some sort of verification." She shook her head, and looked over her shoulder. Ilia stood a good distance behind, holding her weapon in her left hand, and her elbow in her right. "…are you coming, or what?"

Ilia's eyes immediately rose from the ground to meet Cinnamon's, though the difference was imperceptible to all around due to the ivory mask covering the upper part of her face. "Right. Yeah, of course. Just… thinking."

"Thinking about last night?" Cinnamon teased as she dropped her arms to her sides and began to make her way into the camp. "Was it as good for you as it was for me?"

" _Hilarious_ ," Ilia remarked as she moved to follow. The guards kept their eyes off the pair of them as she passed through the gate, and Ilia shook her head as the doors began to close behind them. "I'm just… worried."

" _Worried?_ What, that something will slip? I've got it all under control, Amitola… or do you not trust me?" Cinnamon asked as she made her way toward Adam's tent.

Ilia swallowed hard, and shook her head. "No, I… of _course_ I trust you. You have what's best for the Fang in mind, right?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Cinnamon retorted as she made her way up to the tent. She outstretched a hand to pull back the flap, but curled her fingers slightly away from the leather. Without a word, she turned on her heel and began to walk in another seemingly random direction.

"…Cin?" Ilia inquired as she once again began to follow the older woman.

"Keep up. We're settling this now," she replied shortly as she continued to walk. Cinnamon made her way to the edge of the compound, where two masked guards were working to load ammunition into two black crates. The pair looked up as she approached, and both froze at the sight of her facial expression.

"M-ma'am…?"

" _Move_ ," she commanded in response. "The last shipment you idiots sent to Kuo Kuana arrived _wet_ , and useless. I'm inspecting this round personally, and if it happens again, you'll be answering to Amitola."

"Y-yes ma'am!" the pair replied in unison as they threw up salutes. The younger of the pair bowed his head in shame as Cinnamon once again put her hands on her hips. "It may be my fault. I may not have locked it, or… um…"

"I didn't ask for excuses. Make yourselves scarce," Cinnamon threatened as her spines twitched. The guards looked at each other nervously, and left to head deeper into the camp.

Ilia approached Cinnamon slowly, and moved to sit upon one of the crates before taking the opportunity to check their surroundings. "…well. No one around…"

"Do you want in on this, or not?" Cinnamon asked plainly.

"In on… what, exactly?" Ilia said as she removed her mask and held it in her free hand. She looked up at Cinnamon, who returned the gaze with narrowed eyes.

"Improving this chapter of the Fang. Let me be blunt with you- I'm working, slowly and _carefully_ , to set Adam up for a fall. When he does, I'll be taking the keys to the kingdom. Sienna is going to fold to pressure just like Ghira did before her, if Adam doesn't get to her first. That part is just a matter of time. If you're with me, then play your role in the Fang, and when the time comes, you'll know when to jump in. If you're not… then keep quiet. Of course, I have a funny feeling that you're in. Otherwise, I wouldn't be letting you into the loop at all," Cinnamon finished.

Ilia's lip twitched into a frown as she lowered her voice. "…what exactly makes you so sure? Why do you think I want anything more than to get even with the humans, and accomplish what the White Fang pushes for in general?"

"I've seen and heard enough to support the idea," Cinnamon replied. "Besides, we have similar tastes in many things. For example, you've got an eye for fashion."

Ilia raised a brow. "An eye… for fashion…?"

Cinnamon folded her arms beneath her chest, and stuck a hip out to the side. "Yes indeed. I've always admired your approach of making simple things work. Black and gold looks good on you, Ilia. Black and gold _always_ go together well, don't you think?"

Ilia's mouth suddenly began to feel very dry, as her shoulders stiffened. "I'd… say so, yeah. It's a classic combination."

"That it is. And yet oh so often, black tries to stand on its own, when it looks _so_ much better backed up by something that glitters, no matter the occasion," Cinnamon said with a smirk. "It just warms my heart to see them together, over black and red. Such a tired, and quite frankly, _unflattering_ look."

The echoes of quiet conversation around the camp filled the air as Ilia looked away, doing her best to look invisible without changing her skin color.

"…what's the matter? Cat got your tongue, Ilia?"

"Don't… hurt them," Ilia pleaded as she looked back up at Cinnamon. " _Please_."

" _Hurt_ them? You know my rule, Ilia. We only came to blows because they entered my home. I wouldn't do anything _untoward_ , unless they started it. You really need to relax," Cinnamon commented as she moved to sit upon the other crate, next to Ilia.

"Relax? You want me to _relax?_ " she nearly screeched, her palms sweaty against the plastic of the ammo case. "What exactly do you think you know? What are you _planning?_ Why does everything you say read like a threat, Cin?"

Cinnamon kept her eyes straight ahead as Ilia addressed her, and narrowed them slightly with displeasure. "Because to someone, it always is," she replied as she stood back up again. Ilia opened her mouth to retort, only to be interrupted by a male voice from mere feet ahead of them.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my two leading ladies."

Cinnamon took a breath as Adam smirked and scooped her into a one-armed hug, his other hand tight around the sheath of his sword as always. Ilia grit her teeth as she watched the spectacle, and shivered as Adam tilted his head to suggest that he was looking at her through his mask.

"…you look unwell, Sister Amitola. Is something wrong?"

Cinnamon answered for her as she pushed away from Adam, while keeping her hands on his sides. "You know how she is, with storms. It's just a lack of sleep," she lied as she gripped Adam's chin and pulled him into a kiss. Ilia stood, and crossed her arms to rub at her biceps.

"It's… yeah. That's all," she agreed.

Adam sighed heavily and shook his head. Ilia got the distinct impression that he was rolling his eyes behind the mask as he looked away from her and back to Cinnamon. "Still, with the thunder. Get over it. You're not a _child_."

"…yes, sir…" Ilia replied dejectedly.

"Lighten up, baby," Cinnamon chided lightly as she rested a hand onto Adam's chest. "We all have our weaknesses."

"Weaknesses that need to be culled. Things are about to get far more serious, and there's no room for stupidity like that in the coming weeks." Adam cast his eyes back to Ilia, and sneered. "Sleep on the ship, while you can. We're heading out to Kuo Kuana."

Ilia moved to slip her mask back onto her face to hide her widening eyes, as Cinnamon spoke.

"No, Adam. We're not."

"…excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?" Adam replied as he stepped back from Cinnamon.

"What that's supposed to mean, _baby_ , is that you've had me cooped up _in_ Kuo Kuana for over a month, now, alone, with the odd call to check in and nothing more. I'm not going straight back there when this is the first time I've seen you in weeks. What exactly is so pressing that we need to head there _now?_ " Cinnamon demanded through narrowed eyes.

Adam hesitated, and cleared his throat with an uncomfortable frown. "I… have a problem there, that I need to deal with, sooner than later. You should know that the Belladonnas are now aware of our activities at Beacon. They hold considerable sway over the people of the village."

"And we planned for that inevitability. _We_ hold even more sway that they do in Kuo Kuana… and the Belladonnas aren't even aware of it, yet. I'm not hearing anything that says we need to be there _today_ ," Cinnamon retorted. "Can't you and I have one day to ourselves, before we go causing trouble? Ilia isn't the only one who's exhausted right now."

Ilia looked uncomfortably between the pair as Adam seemed to consider Cinnamon's words.

"…you're tired, too? You've never once complained about slowing down, or…"

"Well, I'm complaining _now_ ," Cinnamon said through clenched teeth. "Come _on_. I want some time with you, alright? The Belladonnas can wait a day. Just _one_ ," she cooed as she traced a finger from Adam's chest up under his chin.

"… _fine_ ," Adam conceded with a heavy sigh. "One day."

Ilia cleared her throat. "I-I can go, ahead of you two. Just tell me what you need me to do, and I'll get everything set up and ready for your arrival."

"Hm," Adam considered, only to be cut off as Cinnamon turned to face Ilia.

"Why don't you go and make sure the ship is stocked, instead? Double check the work of the crew, and then get some rest… or see if you can find someone to make your night as explosive as ours will be," Cinnamon said with a meaningful look.

"Explosive? You spoil me," Adam chuckled as he kept his eyes on Cinnamon's back. She kept her own locked with Ilia's, and offered a small smirk.

"That's right. _Explosive._ "

"I'll do that," Ilia confirmed with a purposeful nod.

"Good," Cinnamon replied. "And… wear something nice, if you go for it. _Not_ green. In fact, I'd cut green out entirely. It doesn't suit you. Make sure you keep blue and red in mind… but leave them well alone."

"…am I missing something?" Adam asked as he looked between the two women. "I think she'd look alright in green."

Cinnamon rolled her eyes as she moved to stand beside Adam and slipped a hand around his waist. "Because you have no taste, or idea what's good for you."

"I picked you out, didn't I?" Adam countered as he offered her a smug look.

"…exactly my point," Cinnamon replied as she watched Ilia slip off toward the main gate. "Totally clueless."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

If ever I open a restaurant, I'm calling the name 'The Stacked Cracker' right now.

Next update is on Saturday, the 6th.

 **-RD**


	32. Fashion Forward

Ilia watched in silence as her breath formed a cool, ephemeral mist every time she exhaled, clouding her view of the device before her. In her left hand, she held a small pocket knife. In her right, her scroll, which she used as a makeshift light. Before her, an open bomb, and three wires- blue, red, and green- visible within the circuitry.

A groan echoed from the wooden boards of the ship above Ilia's head, and she tensed as her hand shook, jittering the light all around the cargo hold. Countless shadows from stacked ammunition crates, weaponry, and other bombs danced along the wooden walls before she managed to steady her hand with a calming breath. More creaking rang out as crew members walked about on the floor above her, and Ilia closed her eyes for a moment to focus on her breathing.

"Come on. Hold it together…"

The floor of the hold shifted slightly as the vessel rocked gently in the water, and Ilia opened her eyes just in time to catch faint murmurings above as two members of the White Fang began a conversation. She strained her ears as she rose from her crouched position, and climbed atop an ammo crate. Carefully, she placed her palms and an ear against the ceiling, and tried to listen in.

 _"…never made it back to Mistral. Word is, there are pieces of the ship washing ashore, and splintered wood on the rocks not far from this encampment."_

 _"Really?"_ asked a second, deeper voice in disbelief. _"Sienna Khan, dead? I don't believe it."_

 _"You can believe it. Heard Adam discussing it with one of the Albain twins through the tent flaps while I was on patrol. Apparently, her ship was ambushed by a human vessel when she tried to head back and got caught in the storm. I think they're trying to keep it under wraps, but word is starting to spread through the camp. It probably won't be long until they send out a crew to try to verify it."_

 _"Then… what's going to happen, if she really is gone? Adam's going to take over the entirety of the Fang?"_

 _"Looks that way. I don't kn-"_

Ilia pulled back from the wood in shock and hopped from the crate back down to the wooden planks of the bottom of the ship as she felt pins and needles rushing through her body. She shook her head as she cursed to herself, and looked down at her scroll. Cinnamon's signal was strong enough to make a call, though Blake and Sun were both unavailable. Ilia hovered her finger over Cinnamon's number, and then lowered it again as she thought better of it.

"…she was right. She's absolutely right… and no humans got the jump on her," Ilia concluded as spoke in a low whisper to herself. With a shiver, she looked back over to the waiting bomb, and approached the device once again. Ilia crouched low, and looked over the wires with narrowed eyes.

"…cut the green out. Keep blue and red in mind, but leave them well enough alone," Ilia repeated as she furrowed her brow. Slowly, she reached into her pocket, and withdrew the bundle of wires that Blake had taken from Cinnamon's home. The shapes and colors matched, and Ilia stuffed them back into her pocket as she swallowed hard. "Well… I _really_ hope you're actually a friend, Cin. Here goes everything," she mused as she spun her pocket knife in hand.

With careful precision, Ilia leveled the blade at the top of the green wire and slowly sawed through the casing. She repeated the motion at the base of the wire, and cleaved cleanly through the thin metal before extracting the length entirely. Ilia held it up to her face and squinted in the light of her scroll, before pocketing the insulated thread and pulling the cover of the bomb closed to leave it looking untampered with.

"One bomb defused, and about twenty more to go," Ilia recited to herself as she moved to the next dormant explosive. Without hesitation, she got to work disarming the bomb in exactly the same way, and once again pocketed the wire. The process repeated in near silence as Ilia continued her work until all of the green wires were cut, and she closed the final outer shell with a heavy sigh.

"There. Done… unless I've just done something horrible. I _really_ hope he doesn't intend to use these against Blake…"

With one final, unsure look at her handiwork, Ilia turned and made her way up and out of the cargo hold to the second level of the ship. She closed the trapdoor behind herself as she walked into the hallway lit by wall-mounted candles, and passed a White Fang guard standing in front of a door. Ilia paused, and turned to face him.

"…recruit. Do you have the keys to the cargo hold?"

"Yes, ma'am. Of course," he replied stoically as he shifted his gun within his grip.

"Lock it up. I just did a thorough inspection, and I don't want anyone down there without direct approval from me. Your new orders are to stand guard over the hatch, until further notice. Is that understood?" Ilia commanded with an edge to her voice.

"Yes, ma'am. I will guard it with my life," he replied before turning to walk toward the hatch. Ilia watched him go, before slipping into the unguarded room and withdrawing her scroll once again as she closed the door behind herself.

Ilia spared the small space a cursory glance and found nothing but a few crates and some netting affixed to the wall by several nails. She leapt up to sit upon a crate as she dialed Cinnamon's number, and cleared her throat to prepare for the conversation.

"Come on… _please_ pick up…"

" _What, Amitola?"_ came the harsh reply from the other side of the line. " _I'm a little…_ _ **busy**_ _right now."_

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, Cin, but… I cut green out of my wardrobe entirely," Ilia informed as she idly twirled her pocket knife in her free hand.

 _"Good, but is that all you called me for?"_ Cinnamon paused as an indecipherable mumble echoed in the background of the call. _"No, nothing's wrong, she just finished inspecting the ship, and wanted to apologize for being so unprofessional, earlier._ " Another round of mumbles and an annoyed grunt filtered into Ilia's ear through the speaker, and she bit her lip as she lowered the volume of her voice.

"…Cinnamon, I think Sienna's dead. I overheard some men talking about her ship being scuttled on the way back to Mistral. I… I think you're right. About everything."

Another pause brought a deafening silence that lasted just long enough to become uncomfortable into the conversation, and Ilia closed her eyes as she awaited a response.

" _…yes, I think two should be fine. I don't see why the color matters at all, but stick with black and gold. We'll talk again when I'm not so busy… but I'll try to do some digging, and see what I can come up with before we leave tomorrow morning."_ One final stretch of indecipherable, distinctly male noises from the other side of the line came over the call, and Ilia pinched the bridge of her nose as she felt an errant tear slip down her cheek.

 _"_ _ **Yes**_ _, we're talking fashion. It's important! She's trying to find a hook up before we leave, and I'm trying to help a girl out, alright?_ " Cinnamon's tone became more direct as she spoke to Ilia once again. _"I'm sorry, Ilia. He's not cooperating, and I'm sure you'll find your answers soon enough. Just keep going, and things will work out. Go with black and gold. Trust me."_

"…black and gold. I… thanks, Cin. I'll let you go," Ilia replied as she pushed her thumb into the screen to end the call. She leaned backward and rested her head against the cool surface of the wooden wall behind her as the ship continued to gently rock and sway. Without thinking, she brought a hand up into her hair and smoothed it back, her chest aching as she thought of the implications that Sienna's supposed death brought with it.

"This is all for a brighter future. It _has_ to be for a brighter future," Ilia said to herself as she closed her eyes. "I can't let this all be for nothing."

* * *

Sun squinted as he read over the parchment, his hands keeping a light grip on the stacks of paper as Ghira sat across from him in silence. Kali continued to gently rub a green salve onto Sun's right arm as he read in silence. Suddenly, he looked up at Ghira, and tilted his head.

"So, what _is_ the history of the White Fang in Kuo Kuana? Why do the people trust them so much?"

"At this point, I'm not sure I know, myself," Ghira admitted as he crossed his arms. "They've been incredibly helpful for years, now, before you and Blake arrived. They act as a sort of guardian force against the grimm on the island, and oversee the majority of construction projects in town. They also provide ammunition and goods from other places for trade in the market… and so, they are seen as essential, here."

"Don't forget that several of the people living here are likely in the White Fang, themselves… and we may not even know it," Kali added as she gently patted Sun's arm, before moving to apply the ointment to the opposite one. "Their influence in Kuo Kuana may extend further than we previously thought."

"So, you're sayin' this speech needs to not only inspire, but potentially change a lot of minds," Sun said as he ran a hand through his hair. "And we've got no concrete proof that they're planning to attack Haven Academy."

"That is correct… and so, we need to get a head start on making the people stand with me. Then, we can focus on finding hard evidence and swaying them to help us defend the school," Ghira replied.

"Well… as far as a rallying cry, I think this is great. Really!" Sun said enthusiastically as he handed the papers back over to Ghira. The larger male accepted the pile, and worked to organize it back into a neat stack. "It's from the heart, it speaks the truth, and… it's something that I think people need to hear. As far as that one sticking point… let me talk to her. I think, if I play my cards right, I can get her to share her story in public."

Kali rubbed Sun's arm in a circular motion as she continued to work the lotion into his wounds, and fixed him with an encouraging smile. "Sun, I have a feeling that if you put your mind to it, and your mouth to hers… you can convince Blake to do _anything_."

"Kali, _please_ ," Ghira begged. "He may have won us over, but Blake is still our _daughter_. I don't need to hear the details."

Sun laughed nervously as Kali got to work on the cuts upon his chest, and he leaned back into the couch cushions to grant her easier access. "I'll do my best… but there are some things even _I_ can't pull out of her. I think the key this time is going to be talking to her _about_ Beacon, and her team. It's something that she's kinda made… off-limits, until now."

"Team RWBY, was it?" Kali inquired. "She's been incredibly tight-lipped about them since she got here. All I know is what you've told me."

Sun raised a brow in confusion at the statement, and idly swished his tail as he tried to keep his eyes off of Kali as she rubbed his chest. "What? You guys didn't even see them fight in the Vytal Tournament, before the tower went down?"

Ghira shook his head. "We were unaware that she was even _attending_ Beacon, before the pair of you arrived at our doorstep. After Kali and I left the White Fang, and Blake decided to stay behind… we barely spoke, and eventually, all communication ceased."

"And you were fine with that?" Sun asked with wide eyes. "You just… let your daughter do whatever on her own, for years?" Sun coughed as he avoided Ghira's eyes, and toned down his surprise as best he could. "I mean, I'm not trying to judge, but…"

Kali dug her nails lightly into Sun's pecs to get him to look at her, and the gambit paid off as he winced. "We're not perfect parents by any means, Sun. That's a conversation that the two of us have had many times, but we decided in the end that it was best to let Blake find herself, and her path, without interfering. She was so driven, so _passionate_ about faunus rights, even at a young age, that we let her choose to remain in the Fang, even when we wanted out."

Ghira nodded, and leaned forward to clasp his hands between his legs. "There is also the matter that… for a time, I trusted Adam to take care of her. Even though I didn't _like_ him, I thought I could rely on him to guard my daughter as she found her way. I chose Sienna as my successor partially to give him the availability to focus on her… and partially because I was worried what he might do, with so much power. In a way, much of what has happened to Blake is my fault."

Sun raised his hands defensively, as Kali turned to face her husband. "Hey, _whoa_ , Ghira, that's not cool. Playing the blame game is gonna get us nowhere, and you did what you thought was best, at the time. Nobody can predict exactly what's going to happen when they make decisions, and you made the most informed decision you could, back then. I'm sure Blake would say the same."

"Besides, we're trying to take _back_ the White Fang. You can't be thinking along the lines that you made a colossal mistake if you're going to inspire the people to rally behind you once again," Kali added.

Ghira inhaled deeply through his nose, and breathed a ragged sigh from his mouth as he stood to tower over his wife and Sun. "You're right, the both of you. All the same… the pressure of everything going on is starting to wear on me. I think, perhaps, I should go and help Blake in the kitchen. I'll meet the pair of you downstairs, soon?"

Kali opened her mouth to protest, but Sun cut her off. "Sure, man. We'll catch up soon."

"…thank you," Ghira replied as he slipped through the door and disappeared from the office. The moment he was gone, Sun let out a weary breath that he wasn't aware he had been holding, and brought a hand up to his forehead.

" _Great_. Him, too? I thought Ghira was unbreakable!"

Kali echoed Sun's sigh as her ears flattened, and she braced a hand against his chest. "No one is truly unbreakable. Not even him. It seems to me like all three of you are dragging your feet, and I can hardly criticize you for doing so. I just hope that this rally goes well, and brings some invigoration back into your spirits. How are _you_ holding up?"

"I'm…" Sun began, before he paused to reconsider. "…I have no idea. I've never felt so torn, about so many things, at once. Did, uh… did Ghira tell you about my… family situation?"

"He did, yes," Kali admitted. "I couldn't help but pry a bit, after the other day. I'm a little worried about you, to be honest… but I also want you to know that as far as I'm concerned, you _are_ family, here, and always will be. Not just because of Blake, but also because of how you helped Ilia. She's been my second daughter for a decade, now, and having her back is something I never expected."

"Glad I could help," Sun replied with a smile.

"You always are… and that's a big part of why I'm so happy that you swept my daughter off her feet. _Please_ stick around. Having you here is likely the only reason that I'm not feeling more like the three of you," Kali said as she finally rose and capped the jar of ointment. Sun copied her movements, and stood into a stretch as he grabbed his wine red shirt from the back of the couch, before slipping his arms through the short sleeves.

"It really makes you that happy, to see us together?"

Kali offered a nod, and clasped her hands below her waist. " _Family_ is what makes me happy. Ghira, Blake, Ilia, and you. Slowly but surely, everything is coming together. We just have to weather this storm, and reach that brighter future beyond the rally, and beyond Haven. Once we get there, everything will be perfect."

"I hope you're right," Sun agreed as he offered a hand. Kali accepted it, and the pair began to make their way for the door to the office.

"And then you can focus on making me grandchildren."

Sun brought his free hand up to scratch the back of his neck as he entered the hallway, and kept his eyes on the path ahead. "…you just _have_ to go there, every time, don't you?"

"I absolutely do, yes," Kali replied with a wicked grin. "I want at least two."

"Well… you won't hear any complaints from me," Sun admitted as he let his mind begin to wander to a more pleasant place.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Closer and closer to the big speech… where _absolutely nothing could possibly go wrong. Ever._

Happy (early...?) birthday to merendinoemiliano, and a huge thanks again to them and all of the reviewers (and **especially** Frozenheart7 and Constipated Genius, who have been doing this forever now along with merendinoemiliano). We're finally ramping up to a big turning point in the story with Ghira's speech and the aftermath, and a lot of things people have been waiting for may well happen soon. In addition, I'm glad that Cinnamon is coming through as something more than a stock villain. I'm sure it's hardly shocking to say that she isn't revealing her entire hand... nor will she, for quite a while.

Next update on Tuesday, the 9th.

 **-RD**


	33. Scrape

"So hey," Sun began as he circled the damp cloth around the inside of the frying pan once again. "Guess who's a good cook?"

Blake rolled her eyes as she kept them on the wine glass that she continued to polish to a sparkling transparency over the sink. "…Sun, I just made some fish. It's no big deal…"

"Some fish that was delicious," he added as he circled around to Blake's other side. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she fought back a smile, and watched his movements from the corner of her eye.

"You can't embarrass me when we're the only ones in the kitchen. It was really nothing special, okay?"

Sun jutted a hip out to the side and bumped into Blake's as he leaned over the sink and into her field of view. "Well, _I_ think you should be proud. Some people can't make cereal without putting down a drop cloth and wearing a hazmat suit."

"Is that your way of telling me that _I'm_ stuck doing all of the cooking, if we end up living together after all of this?" Blake asked as she finally spared him a glance. Sun's jaw dropped in mock offense as he pointed to his chest.

"Excuse me? _I_ happen to be an amazing cook! I can make omelets with the best of them, and… I make _really_ good omelets!"

Blake sighed and slapped her dish rag into Sun's face as she placed the clean glass next to its brothers upon the counter. "That's both pathetic and adorable, at the same time. I'll teach you what I know, when we have more time. Though… I'm not exactly a master chef."

Sun clawed the partially damp rag from his face and slung it across his shoulder as he continued to work at drying the pan. "Doesn't matter. I'll eat whatever you're cookin'. It's both good food, and pretty cute."

" _Cute?_ " Blake asked as she picked up the fourth and final dirty glass and began to rinse it out beneath the faucet. "How exactly is my cooking cute?"

"…you drew little flowers on the plates with the sauce and fanned the broccoli spears into patterns," Sun answered in a deadpan voice.

"…shut up," Blake shot back as her left cat ear twitched.

"What? It's not a bad thing! I said it's _cute!_ I like your artistic side!"

"You like _all_ of my sides," Blake replied as she shook her head.

"Uh-huh. And is that really a surprise? It's my job, as your boyfriend, to appreciate all side-age of Blake equally," Sun stated with a heroic pose as he put his hands on his hips while keeping a tight grip on the frying pan.

"…you are _such_ a dork," Blake offered as she reached out a hand for the pan. Sun passed it over, and Blake put her finished glass and the cookware on the opposite side of the sink. "I can't believe I fell for you."

"Neither can I, honestly, but I'm totally cool with it. Speaking of cool, how was Ghira, when he came down to help you in the kitchen?" Sun asked as he hopped up to sit on the counter and put his palms flat against the surface.

"…you think my dad is _cool?_ " Blake asked in disbelief as she leaned back into the fridge to face Sun, arms crossed.

"No, not… well _yeah_ I think Ghira's cool! But I meant 'cool' as in… being okay, you know? Did he seem alright, when he came downstairs?" Sun corrected.

"I… sort of? He was quieter than usual, I guess," Blake offered alongside a noncommittal shrug. "I wasn't really paying much attention, since I was trying not to burn the rice. Why, did something happen?"

"Well… a little? I guess?" Sun said as he tilted his head. "Not so much something _happened_ , as he seems wicked stressed out about the speech tomorrow. I read over it and tried to be supportive, but he still doesn't seem too happy about talking to the public."

Blake frowned ever so slightly. "It's a bit of a big deal, Sun. What we're proposing is a shift in both ideology and potentially lifestyle for a lot of citizens of Kuo Kuana. The White Fang as they are now are so ingrained into faunus society, especially here, that making a change like that can't happen overnight. He's just planting seeds with this, and a lot of people are going to be upset with him for it. I just hope it doesn't turn out badly."

"With Ghira at the helm, and us backing him up? They've _gotta_ listen," Sun said confidently. "We're just presenting the truth to the people in one neat little package. There's an opportunity to really send a message, though, that would need your help to pull off."

Blake's expression of concern turned almost immediately into a glare as she tensed. "What are you planning?"

"I mean, _I_ didn't plan it, actually, but Ghira thought it would be really effective if you shared your story with the people. Your story of Beacon, and… Team RWBY," Sun said with a bit of trepidation.

"…no," Blake said simply without a moment's hesitation.

"Blake, please, just think ab-"

"I said _no_ , Sun!" Blake fumed as she raised the volume of her voice. "If you want to talk about something I'm _really_ not ready for, it's revisiting that night and sharing it with people I don't even know."

"Holding it in is only going to build pressure, and I _know_ you blame yourself for what happened to Yang. Why don't we discuss it, and try to lift a bit of the burden, and then you can decide how you feel about telling others?" Sun asked as he slipped off the counter and approached Blake.

Blake didn't move as Sun approached to put his hands on her hips, and instead only let out a frustrated breath through her nose. "…okay. _Fine_ , if you really think it's a good idea."

Sun blinked in surprise. "Wait… really? I expected you to get mad, or…"

"I _am_ a little mad, but you know what? If you think this is such a good idea, and you think it'll help me start to feel better… I'll at least try," Blake spat. "I trust you."

Sun grinned despite Blake's sullen pout, and transitioned an arm down behind her knees. He pulled and pushed at the same time to unbalance her and scoop her into a bridal carry as she flailed wildly, and then clasped her arms around his neck.

"Sun, what are you _doing!?_ "

"We can't just talk about something like this in the kitchen. Let's go get comfortable, and _then_ we can get into it. Besides, my second duty as boyfriend-in-chief is to administer cuddles when the Blake is upset, and the Blake is _clearly_ upset," Sun teased as he began to walk.

"…I'm never letting you sleep in again, if it makes you like this," Blake complained as she watched him chart a path through the dining hall and to the stairs.

"You love it," Sun countered as he made his way up the steps.

"I love _you_."

"Yup. Now, let's do this. Couch? Bed? Shower?" Sun asked as he pushed through the guest room door.

"… _shower?_ "

"Joking!"

"I hate you. Couch," Blake ordered as Sun made an abrupt pivot. He made his way to the couch and slowly sat down, before transitioning to lay atop the cushions as Blake shifted to sprawl out atop him.

"Better?" Sun asked as he folded his arms behind his head.

"…alright, _yes_ , this is better. I still hate you," she groused as she pecked Sun's lips.

"You'll get over it. Now… let's try to sort this out, together. How much of your feelings, and your silence about this until now is about Yang?" Sun asked as he searched Blake's eyes.

Blake didn't answer for a long time, and eventually looked away to lay her head atop Sun's chest. "…to be honest… maybe half of it. Seeing her on the ground, missing an arm _destroyed_ me… but so did knowing that Adam came to Beacon partially because of me, and seeing all of the destruction and bloodshed around us. It was… _horrible_."

Sun slipped a hand down from behind his head and into Blake's hair to gently rub at the base of one of her ears. "Don't take this the wrong way, but uh… weren't you used to violence, from being with the Fang? And… maybe even killing?"

Blake let out a sigh at the question, and closed her eyes as she tried to focus on Sun's heartbeat. "…I didn't kill… but I _did_ see some of it, yes. The difference for me then was that it was all working toward something. I know that isn't right, but the slaughter at Beacon just seemed mindless. _Savage_. Like the very portrait of what some humans accuse us of being."

"And that right there is exactly what you need to tell the people of Kuo Kuana," Sun said firmly. "You really don't need to get super detailed, but if they hear that you were once a member of the Fang, and that Beacon helped you wake up and see them for what they really are… maybe we'll have a shot at this."

"Maybe we will," Blake agreed as she shifted to rest her chin between Sun's pecs and stare up at him. "I still don't feel comfortable, though. Then again, I don't think _any_ of us are exactly comfortable right now."

"Yeah, no, not really," Sun replied. "The stuff about Yang, though, you can definitely keep out. Is she your first priority, once we get Haven under control?"

"No," Blake said immediately.

"No…?"

" _You_ are my first priority, then. Once we reach a point of relative safety, where we can really, finally relax without worrying about what terrible things might happen tomorrow every single day… I want to get away, with you. Spend some time on _us_ , without having to plan, or wonder, or deal with other people," Blake said.

"Well, I'm all for that," Sun affirmed with a smile. "But seriously- once you and I get that time to ourselves, what do you want to do? Try to find her? I'm not letting you avoid this one," he added as his expression grew more somber.

Blake twisted her features into a look of annoyance as she kept her eyes locked to Sun's. "Honestly… I think priority one has to be Weiss."

"Weiss? _Really?_ I thought you two didn't get along as well as the rest of RWBY," Sun stated with more than a little confusion.

"We're not incredibly close, but… Adam has always hated the Schnee family, and for good reason. They branded him like cattle. _That's_ what he's hiding beneath the mask."

"That is… that's…" Sun struggled to find the words, and eventually just gave up.

"…fucked up beyond reason?" Blake offered.

"Yeah. That's the one," Sun nodded. "How… just… why do they even _have_ brands?"

"They're an effective threat, from what Adam told me. Basically, the overseers down in the mines threaten to brand faunus who refuse to work. Usually, it's a hip, or back, or a hand, in extreme cases. As Adam explained it, he attacked a pair of guards after he found out that his parents were killed in a mining collapse. Their response was to hold him down, and brand his cheek. He thrashed about, and ended up taking the brand to the _eye_ , instead," Blake recounted with a shiver.

"…I'm gonna puke," Sun stated as he felt a surge of disgust. "How can anyone even _think_ to do that to someone?"

"I know. He blames the Schnee family for allowing the overseers to do things like that, and… even now, so do I. But Weiss wasn't directly involved. She probably doesn't even _know_ what her family allows down in the mines, and now, her life is under direct threat," Blake warned. "I wouldn't be surprised at all if he heads to Atlas, looking for her. We need to be ready to stop him… if we haven't stopped him permanently, by that point."

Sun took a moment to process the information, and dipped into a slow nod. "Weiss it is… and then Yang, and Ruby. We need to get the band back together."

"I'd… I don't know. I'd love that, but I don't know if they would accept me, after I ran. I know what you're going to say, so don't even start," Blake said as Sun opened his mouth. He closed it again, and Blake continued. "I'm still willing to try."

"Good. Great, even!" Sun encouraged as he moved his hand to her other ear. "That's a big step forward, and you know I'll be there every step of the way to help smooth things over with the girls."

Blake furrowed her brows, before laying her head sideways again to trap Sun's hand against his chest. "…what about _your_ team?"

Sun bit his lip and chewed for a moment. "What _about_ my team?"

"…Sun, what's wrong?" Blake asked as she raised her head immediately and looked over once again. Sun sighed in response, and drew his hand back to rest it upon his chest.

"I get the feeling that I may be in hot water with them. I told Neptune I was coming after you, and I think he was honestly cool with it… but Sage and Scarlet? They might not be," Sun confessed.

"Well, did you _talk_ to them? Or is this another one of those 'guy things', and just not something you would do?" Blake accused.

"I… kinda left in a hurry, and asked Neptune to sort it out."

" _Sun!_ " Blake said in disbelief.

"I know, I know! But… Neptune's always been a bro, and I trust him. Sage and Scarlet, it's… I mean, they're cool and all, but we're not _close_. We used to have it out every so often, mostly me and Sage, and… that's part of why I went after you," Sun said as he shook his head. "I knew you needed me, and… I kinda needed you, too. Things were starting to get a little uglier, every so often, and Neptune kept stepping in to be the middle man."

Blake merely stared, before pushing herself off of Sun and sitting up beside him as she moved his legs into her lap. "So let me get this straight- you really _did_ abandon your team."

"I'm not proud!" Sun shot back. "I… I'm basically the worst leader ever. I have no idea why I was given a team to begin with, and time and time again, I ended up feeling like I was doing it wrong. Any time I asked for help from the professors, they just told me I would figure it out, eventually. I never did, so I… came with you," Sun said in a defeated tone. "I'm sorry, Blake, but it's the truth. I'm better off following and supporting. It's what gets me through the rough times, and makes me feel useful. Leading them… really didn't."

"Do you miss them, at all? What's going to happen when the new semester starts?" Blake asked.

"Of course I do! I miss Neptune, for sure, and the others…" Sun's eyes widened, as he came to a realization. He pushed backward into the arm of the couch as he scooted into a sitting position, and drew his legs off of Blake's lap.

"Sun? What's wrong?" Blake said as her ears flattened against her skull.

"…that's it. The new semester. Cinnamon said that she wouldn't even _build_ explosives, if they were going to hurt faunus, but we know she did. Blake, think about it- if they blow Haven sky high _before_ the new semester, then it'll wreck the building, but not the students, while still sending a message. The new semester starts in a few weeks!" Sun stated in a panic.

Blake clenched her jaw as she thought over the theory, and shook her head. "Sun, that's… if you're right, we have almost no time. We need to convince the people as quickly as possible, and bring as many as we can to Haven. Isn't SSSN based there?"

Sun sighed, and nodded. "Yeah, and I told them to head back. I'll contact them once we get in range, and hopefully, we can at least convince Neptune to back us up. If not… we'll make it work."

"We seem to have a knack for doing that. Let's stay here tonight, just in case Ilia comes back with information from the camp. I doubt she will this quickly, but we need to fill her in and see if she's heard anything that suggests the Fang is moving soon," Blake said as she straightened her legs into a stretch above the floor.

"Sounds good to me. We should get some rest, soon, and get ready for the big day tomorrow. Ghira needs us at our best, just in case," Sun added as he stood and raised his arms above his head.

"Yeah. Then, assuming everything goes well… date night. I've got a plan. A _real_ one, this time," Blake stated with an unsure smile.

"Lookin' forward to it, though… let's just take it one step at a time, yeah?" Sun asked as he made his way toward the bed and flopped down unceremoniously.

"One step at a time," Blake confirmed as she moved to sit beside Sun on the bed. "Get some more sleep, if you're still tired. I'm going to sit up, for a bit."

"Oh yeah?" Sun asked as he let out a yawn and wormed his way backward toward the waiting pillows. "Got some big plans, while I'm out cold?"

The corner of Blake's mouth twitched a bit as she eyed him up with her peripheral vision. "I was… thinking of maybe writing a bit of poetry."

"Go for it. Share in the morning?" Sun asked as he closed his eyes.

" _No_."

"Please?"

"Still no," Blake sang as she stood up and headed for the bathroom. "Sleep, Sun."

Sun smirked to himself, and settled in to the blankets. "…totally gonna hunt for that poetry tomorrow."

" _I heard that!_ " came the call from the open door of the bathroom.

" _How?_ " Sun asked in disbelief.

" _I have four ears!_ "

"…right," Sun said to himself as he rolled onto one side. "More sleep makes Sun less stupid."

" _Let's hope so!"_

Sun didn't reply, as he drifted off without another thought.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Let the speech begin on Friday, the 12th.

 **-RD**


	34. Click

_"Come on! This way!_ " Sun cried enthusiastically as he bolted between another pair of faunus having a conversation in the middle of the marketplace. "Ghira Belladonna's about to speak, in front of the Belladonna manor! It sounds really important!"

The two faunus looked at each other and nodded, before beginning to walk at a brisk pace behind Sun. Sun himself slipped through the crowd, flattening himself and holding up his hands as he squeezed around a large man carrying a bundle of lumber.

"Hey, man! Ghira's speaking, in a few minutes! Come on down to the center of town! Big changes in Kuo Kuana!"

"Big changes? Wh-"

"Dunno! I wouldn't miss it, though! This is our home, and we deserve to know!" Sun countered as he picked back up into a jog. A throng of people followed along at a hastened clip as Sun raised his scroll to the side of his face. "Hey, how's the other side of the market?"

" _Pretty good, I guess?"_ Blake's voice replied over the line. " _Looks like I've got pretty much everyone who cares on the way over to the house. How about you?"_

"Good. _Really_ good," Sun said as he toned his pace down into a walk. He looked over his shoulder to see what was more or less a sea of people walking behind him, and then turned to once again focus on the path ahead. "I'm more annoying and insistent than you, though, so I think I scored a bigger crowd."

 _"Yes. Yes, you are. I'm walking up the steps now. Meet you here in a few?"_

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Sun replied as he pocketed the scroll. The noise of the crowd behind him swelled to a deafening roar, and Sun tried to pick out a few choice words as he made his way onto the road leading to the manor. He came away with nothing comprehensible, and chuckled to himself as he reached the steps leading up to the landing in front of the mansion.

A podium had been set up on the flattened ground atop the steps, with the Belladonna emblem carved into the front and a microphone affixed atop it. Ghira stood a good distance behind the wooden structure, with reading glasses on and a large stack of papers cradled beneath one arm. He smirked slightly as Sun approached and offered a nod, which Sun returned.

"…it seems you did well, gathering the people."

"And it looks like you're good to go. Nervous?" Sun asked as he extended a fist. Ghira rolled his eyes, before accepting the bump with a weary sigh.

"…before something like this? Always. Blake agreed to speak, as well. How do you do it…?"

"Trade secret," Sun replied with a wink. "Usually involves some kisses and a lot of truths she doesn't want to hear."

Ghira shook his head. "Say no more. _Please_."

Sun chuckled and raised a dismissive hand as he walked past Ghira, and into the waiting arms of Kali, who wrapped him in a tight hug. "You got it, Ghira. Hey, Kali."

"Hey. Thank you, Sun. For everything," Kali said as she tightened her squeeze.

"Don't thank me just yet. Let's get through this and gauge reactions, before we celebrate."

"And celebrate we will, once it's over. This is a rather big day, for Kuo Kuana," Kali said with a bit of concern.

"Yeah. And you guys, too," Sun agreed as he slipped out of the hug, and eyed up Blake. She leaned against the wall of the house beneath the overhang, with arms crossed and eyes downcast to the ground. Kali merely nodded and walked to take her place at the top of the steps, as Sun approached Blake.

"…I'm not even going to ask, because I already know. Kiss me," Sun instructed as he closed the distance. Blake pushed off the wall with her back and uncrossed her arms, only to wrap them tightly around him as she leaned up into a passionate kiss. The lip lock broke after a long moment, and Blake rested her head against the center of Sun's chest.

"Thanks for not asking. This sucks, and I hate it… but it's for the greater good."

"Pretty good summary of being a huntsman, isn't it?" Sun asked as he lightly brushed the back of his hand along Blake's cheek.

"Yes. Yes, I suppose it is," she agreed with a muted smile. "Nothing left to do but watch and listen, so… let's go and get this done."

"Yeah," Sun agreed as he waved for Blake to follow. "Just act natural."

The pair took their places at the top of the steps, next to Kali, and both sucked in a deep breath as they shifted their attention to Ghira.

With one final nod to his family behind him, Ghira began to make the slow approach to the podium. What seemed like all of Kuo Kuana had gathered in the town square, and the facial expressions and body language of the people were as varied as their faunus traits. Some stood with arms folded, looks of annoyance plain on their faces. Others wrung their hands, worried for the future. Still more looked optimistic, or simply happy to see Ghira outside of the mansion once again, and a few stood with their backs turned to their leader.

Ghira took them all into account as he straightened his papers upon the wood of the podium, before closing his eyes and taking one final, deep breath. As he looked out over the crowd once again and adjusted the attached microphone to better suit his massive stature, he started to speak in a slow, comforting tone.

"Kuo Kuana… brothers, sisters, family friends, and even those who hold a grudge against me," he began, "I am delighted to see you all here. Though our conditions upon this island are far less than ideal, we have _all_ worked together to make it more than a substandard gift, begrudgingly handed to our people by humans who see us as lesser. With the combined efforts of all of our hands and hearts, banded together, we have made this island our _home_. Every home is personalized, and no home is complete without a family within it. Today, I speak to you not as Ghira Belladonna, but as a faunus- a faunus who sees you _all_ as part of his family."

Sun folded his arms and smirked. He glanced sideways at Blake, who had her arms rigidly down at her sides as she hung on her father's every word, and felt his mouth pull downward into a frown. Sun considered trying to cheer her up, but decided against it as he brought his attention back to Ghira.

"I say this not because it is meant to come as a surprise, but because I want you all to rest assured that I have your best interests at heart, as I bring to you unfortunate news. I want you to view me not only as your leader, but as a concerned citizen. You and I have all watched this place grow and flourish into something far more than it once was. Many of you have raised smaller families of your own, here, and wish, as I do, to see Kuo Kuana march forward as one into a brighter future. It is for this reason that I come before you today, to say that I see signs that our town, our _family_ , is beginning to stray from the path," Ghira warned as he brought a slight edge to his voice.

The townsfolk began to murmur amongst themselves at the statement- some quietly, and others loudly enough to be disruptive. Ghira allowed the intermission for a few moments, before he raised a hand for silence. Most of the crowd acquiesced, though a few individuals continued to grumble and glare as Ghira began to speak once again.

"Know that all I say now is not something I bring up lightly, and that I speak from experience. Remember that Kuo Kuana was established when I left my position as leader of the White Fang, and elected instead to serve as a figure of authority here. This village was built with a vision to show the rest of the world what we, as faunus, can accomplish together in a _peaceful_ way, rather than by way of the sword. There are some here who have begun to lose sight of that vision, and I hope that I can restore it to you now. While it is true that the White Fang has assisted me, and really, _all_ of us in keeping Kuo Kuana safe, brought us trade with outsiders, and handled much of the construction within the village, there have been signs of ill intent over the last week that I can no longer ignore."

A faunus with thick, brown scales upon his face stepped forward from the crowd and pointed angrily at Ghira as he yelled, his finger unsteady as it trembled in rage. "You owe the Fang _everything!_ How dare you accuse us of ruining Kuo Kuana!?"

Ghira drew in another deep breath as he watched the spectacle, and kept his jaw clenched shut. He looked away from the fuming individual as others spoke their assent or began to protest, and he began to speak again in a louder voice to drown them all out. Most of the crowd returned to silence, while a few continued to argue amongst themselves.

"Recently, there have been attacks within the village. Surely, you have heard rumors by now, but I wish instead to present you all with the facts. Remember that I have invited many of you into my own home to hear your grievances, and I have never turned away those who ask me why it is that I do what I do in running this village."

A few calls of affirmation rang out from within the crowd, and Ghira allowed himself a small smirk as he built up momentum once again.

"For those reasons, I will now tell you everything I know. A few nights ago, my own daughter, and her… companion… were attacked by the White Fang, outside of a local business. The assault was unprovoked, and resulted in minor injuries to them both, as well as property damage to unrelated parties. The damage, I have paid for myself, while the damage to their feelings of safety and wellbeing cannot be so easily repaired. Shortly afterward, an altercation broke out between my wife, Kali, and a citizen who belongs to the White Fang. _Neither_ party should have been brought to harm, and again, someone's home was damaged. This sort of behavior is beginning to spread throughout Kuo Kuana, and it would be incredibly easy to stoke the flames and ignite a conflict between the White Fang and those who are not a part of that organization, from which we as a village would never return. The behavior of Adam Taurus, who was once a personal friend, and who now sits near the top of the White Fang, is only serving to exacerbate tensions among our people. I have reason to believe that many of his followers reside here, among us… and may soon threaten our family at large. It is becoming increasingly clear as more and more people come forward to explain to me what motivates these attacks that _his_ followers are causing the majority of our recent problems."

The buzz from the crowd grew to levels far beyond whispers and musings, and Ghira paused to let the moment pass. Sun again cast his eyes to Blake and found her breathing deeply, her hand jittering as she tried to calm herself. While the crowd was distracted, he sidled over to her and took her hand in his own.

" _Hey_ ," he began as he rubbed at Blake's knuckles. She looked over at him with eyes full of worry, and Sun moved to scoop her into a hug, uncaring of who was watching. "You don't _have_ to do this. If it's too much, I can tell them about Beacon. I was there, too. I can j-"

"No, Sun," Blake interrupted in a shaky voice. "I'll do it. It… it _has_ to be me. Just… come up to the podium with me?"

"I'll follow you anywhere. You know that," Sun reassured as Ghira once again raised his hand, though no silence was awarded.

"Citizens of Kuo Kuana- I know that the rhetoric of Adam Taurus is appealing to many, and in truth… there was a time where I, too, believed it. However, look at what his followers have done to our beautiful island in a few short days, and behold what merely invoking his name has done to this crowd. Brothers and sisters at each other's throats over the mere suggestion to return to peace, from _all_ sides, and the humans are not involved. _We_ are doing this to ourselves, and it is best if we catch this unfortunate turn, now, and redirect our people to return to form. I am not proclaiming that Adam Taurus and his followers are no longer 'allowed' within Kuo Kuana, but I _am_ suggesting that some of his more extreme ideals need a thorough reexamination. At this time, before I conclude today's address and offer a plan to reach peace among us once again, I would like to invite my daughter Blake to share her personal experience from the fall of Beacon Academy… an unprovoked attack in which Adam Taurus participated."

Blake licked her lips and took a few calming breaths as she squeezed Sun's hand. He put a hand on her shoulder in response and offered a silent nod. With a nod of her own, Blake began to walk up to the podium with Sun at her side, as Ghira stepped away from the podium and stood silently to the left. Blake looked out over the crowd of concerned, confused, angry, and worried faces, and adjusted the microphone lower before clearing her throat and closing her eyes. Her ears wilted involuntarily as she began to speak in a quiet voice, and the noise of the crowd slowly died out as they focused on trying to hear her.

"…Beacon Academy… was my home," Blake stated simply as she reopened her eyes, and found tears already threatening to fall. For several moments, she kept her eyes locked on the wood of the podium, and merely focused on breathing as Sun rubbed her shoulder.

"I never expected it to become that. I never _wanted_ to join a huntsman's academy, before I had a sudden whim to help people after what I saw within the White Fang. I never imagined that I would even… become close friends with anyone, let alone three other girls, all humans, who accepted me as their sister. But… it happened. Over the course of not even a year, I grew to see those walls as something… more than a building. Something like our village. Something like a home, and the others there, faunus _and_ human, like a f-"

" _Criminals!_ "

A sharp, piercing voice rang out from within the crowd, causing all color to drain from Blake's face as she found that her words had completely disappeared from her throat.

 _"Liars! Worthless degenerates! Less than! Primal, inferior beings!"_ the voice continued as Blake stepped back from the podium. Sun stepped forward and put a hand behind himself to shield Blake as he scanned the crowd, and watched as the people began to clear out while gasping in horror as a figure made their way toward the steps.

"That is all we are to them, and that is all we'll ever be, under the leadership of the Belladonnas!" the figure continued as he emerged from the crowd. The people of Kuo Kuana formed into a wide semicircle, leaving plenty of space around Adam Taurus as he walked forward and stopped at the bottom of the steps leading to the podium.

"I will not see our people tread upon any longer… and neither will any of you, if you forsake this gallery of cowards and follow _me_."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

If you think this story has had some tense moments before, _just wait until the next chapter_.

Next update on Monday, the 15th.

 **-RD**


	35. It Has to Be This Way

Adam stood before the assembled population of Kuo Kuana with a smirk plastered upon his face as he held his arms out to the sides and eyed up the crowd. His mask and sword were absent, and he wore his usual black suit and gloves. The opulent outfit provided a stark contrast to the people around him, and the villagers regarded him with a mixture of fear, reverence, and hatred as he turned back to face the Belladonna family once again and spoke in a booming, accusatory tone.

"Did you _really_ think you could convince them to rally against _me?_ That I didn't have eyes and ears all over Kuo Kuana, ready to alert me to a move like this? You're not a subtle man, Ghira, and your words are as empty as your promises of peace. Your family tends to promise a _lot_ of things they can't deliver," Adam spat as he fixed his eye on Blake.

Sun looked briefly over his shoulder toward Blake, and found her slowly backing away as silent tears flooded down her cheeks. Before he could stop her, she bolted for the door of the mansion and disappeared inside, as Ghira stepped up to take his place beside Sun at the podium. The gargantuan male rested his palms gently into the wood as Sun turned his attention back to Adam, offering a death glare as he listened to the elder male speak.

" _Mister_ Taurus… you are _welcome_ to speak your opinion to my people, but know that I will not stand for your slander, or attacks on my family. I am here to invite _peace_ , and if you feel the same way, then we can engage in debate right here, right now, to reach an ideal resolution," Ghira stated in a slow, methodical tone, his knuckles growing white as he gripped the podium with steadily increasing strength.

Adam merely laughed in response from his position at the bottom of the steps, as the crowd began to shift and murmur.

"You want to 'have this out', old man? You want to see who among 'your' people would rather follow me? Then don't blame me when the results skew against you," Adam retorted as he turned once again to face the townsfolk. "Know that I, too, have our best interests in mind, as faunus. Ghira, and _all_ of the Belladonnas, pledge loyalty to our race and your immediate families, only to allow the humans to trample us into the dirt and happily accept their scraps of land. There can be no self-sufficiency in Kuo Kuana, while _trade_ with humans is allowed."

Sun seethed and grit his teeth as he listened to Adam's words, his tail swishing angrily behind him. Sudden movement within the crowd drew his attention, and he found the anger in his chest bubbling up even more greatly as he watched Ilia, Cinnamon, and Fennec emerge to stand at the edge of the ring of people, each in a different position around the front of the crowd. Sun narrowed his eyes as he noticed an odd, unfamiliar black shape of some sort in one of Fennec's hands, the object partially obscured by his robes as he held it down and beside himself.

A sudden, unexpected jingling sound echoed from behind Sun and interrupted his focus. He turned his head to watch as Kali marched up to the podium and angrily wrenched the microphone down to her face level.

"Trade that _your_ organization encourages, and enables! Neither race can survive without the other, and shutting ourselves off from the outside world would only lead to us falling even further into the dark ages! You say whatever is convenient for you at the time, Adam! Not what's right for us as a people!"

Once again, Adam laughed, and began to clap slowly as Kali fumed from atop the steps. "Well, well, well. It seems that the beloved leader of Kuo Kuana is incapable of thinking for himself, or fighting his own battles. I will say, though, that it's nice to see that at least _one_ Belladonna woman isn't afraid to face me," Adam sneered.

 _"You shut your goddamned mouth!"_

The crowd fell silent at Sun's sudden outburst, and he found a feeling welling up inside of him unlike any he had experienced before. A burning, intoxicating haze clouded his every thought as he found himself marching down the steps toward Adam, his body on autopilot and the fists balled at his sides shaking in uncontrolled rage. Sun vaguely recognized Ghira's voice calling out to him as he continued to walk, but somehow, the sound meant nothing to him, and he drowned it out with his own enraged voice.

"How _dare_ you come here!? How dare you stand before the Belladonnas, and even _pretend_ to give a shit about these people? You want bodies for your insane, misguided war, and you want to continue your twisted, psychotic cycle of abuse that began with Blake and continues with all of us, even now!" Sun shouted, spit flying from the corner of his mouth as he made his way up to Adam and stopped within arm's length. "You sick, condescending, unbelievable _douche!_ "

A tense silence hung in the air as Adam stared at Sun in momentary shock, before his features began to twist into a confident smirk.

"… _you_ must be the new flame. Sun, is it?" Adam questioned as he tilted his head. "I would suggest you stay out of this, _little boy_ , and let the _men_ talk about the future of Kuo Kuana. No one is going to listen to some feral, vulgar _kid_ with a grudge. Unless, of course, you want to make this physical. But violence breeds violence, does it not? Your… 'new family' has already accused me of using such things to inspire hatred. How fitting it would be if you sank to that same level," Adam taunted as he once again spread his arms, making himself vulnerable. "Go ahead. _Hit me_. Do it for _Blake_."

Kali paused halfway down the steps, and her eyes widened at the words. She watched with bated breath as Sun took a massive inhale, his right arm shaking horribly as it remained balled in a fist. Without warning, he raised the hand as quickly as he could, opened his palm, and used it to push Adam to the side as he stepped forward toward the crowd. Adam stepped several times to regain his balance, and narrowed his eyes as Sun began to speak.

"…this… _supposed_ man," he began, as he pointed back at Adam, "is an abuser of the worst kind. He takes advantage of people for his own gain, manipulates every system and person in which he finds a vulnerability, and gives _nothing_ back. I have heard more from his victims than I care to say publicly, but I can tell you all that he makes me _sick_. None of you know me… and none of you have any reason to listen to me, but I hope you do. I'm Blake Belladonna's…" Sun paused, and inhaled sharply as he weighed his options. "…boyfriend. My name is Sun Wukong, and I've been living with the Belladonnas for weeks, now. I've seen what kind of man Ghira is… and I've heard and _seen_ what Adam Taurus has done, in the name of our people. I, too, was at the fall of Beacon... and I know that he was there."

Several members of the crowd looked back and forth between Sun and Adam as a new storm of conversation pulsed through the assembled faunus. Adam moved to stand even with Sun, and glared at the younger male as he narrowed his eyes. As he tore his glance away from the younger man, he cracked his neck and began to speak.

"…it's true, I was there… but what none of you know is _why_. If you heard what was said by those responsible for the attack, they are of a similar mind as the White Fang. They are unimpressed with the state of humanity. The _comforts_ they've been handed, and the chains that their leaders foist upon them, unbeknownst to the common man. Those that I have met who worked to bring Beacon to its knees have cast aside their ties to humans, and now work only to wake the world from its content, unapologetic and self-serving delusions. They have provided the White Fang with resources, _weaponry_ , and the transport we need to finally begin to make effective change. The advent of our ascension is _now_ , beneath my rule, and it is due in part to our cooperation with them."

"Are you even listening to yourself!?" Sun asked incredulously. "You think working with 'the humans' is a sacrifice that you're willing to make? How many faunus were slaughtered like animals at Beacon, because of a war effort that you pushed? Are those just acceptable losses, too?"

Adam sneered as the crowd turned their eyes on him once again. He waved a hand to the side dismissively, and doubled down on the ice in his tone. "Faunus who cast their lot with institutions such as _Beacon_ deserve what they what they received." Sun made a pained noise and shook his head as he sighed. "While it is always unfortunate for some of our kind to perish as collateral damage… they will not be missed, in our new dawn. What do _you_ know of loss, Sun? I have been told by one of my associates that your parents abandoned you, but it seems to me that beyond that event, one which you were too young to even _remember_ , you know little of what it does to people."

Sun slowly turned his gaze to Ilia within the crowd, and found that she refused to look at him as she held her arm in shame. He inhaled deeply through his nose as he tried to calm himself, and Adam took the vulnerable pause to continue, and address the crowd at large in a soft, contemplative voice.

"People of Kuo Kuana… _look at me_. Look at the left side of my face, and see what _humans_ do to our kind, when we dare to disobey. When we dare to question, or lash out at the injustices they lay at our feet. I was branded like _cattle_ , claimed as a possession of the Schnee Dust Company… the very same company that sold their stolen product all throughout Vale, and on the campus of Beacon. To fund and attend that school is to endorse the theft of the dust that _I_ , and countless others who never escaped those mines, procured. All those who would stand silently by and utilize the resources stolen out from under us by the Schnee family deserve justice at the hands of the faunus. How many of you have relatives who have a story like mine? How many of you know our misguided brothers and sisters, who one way or another allow this to simply continue? How many more of us must suffer silently, until a change is made?"

Adam narrowed his eyes as the villagers whispered in agreement, and his voice gained a threatening, malicious edge. " _I am that change made manifest_."

"…you are a pathetic, hypocritical psychopath," Sun said in an exhausted, defeated tone as he brought a hand up to his forehead. "Violence _isn't_ the answer. You operate out of the shadows, clinging to scraps and begging for resources from your supposed enemies while you tie your tongue in knots to justify your actions. Look at Kuo Kuana- this entire town was built on faunus working together, regardless of belief or origin, and making do with what we have. The fact that this town stands says more to the humans about our capacity for greatness and desire for equality than any amount of smoldering buildings ever will. Your actions, and the White Fang, are holding us back. The greatest loss _I_ know is the lives you stole in support of your own ego, and inability to deal with your past in a way that benefits anyone but _yourself_."

For once, the cool, cocky mask that Adam kept in place seemed to slip as he bared his teeth, and several faunus near the edge of the crowd stepped back in fear as he whirled on them.

"And Kuo Kuana is _good enough_ , is it? An island at the edge of the world, mostly uninhabitable, that we were given just to keep us quiet. That isn't good enough for _me_. Anyone who looks around us and sees anything more than a sad imitation of the comforts and indulgences that the majority of humans enjoy in ignorance and undeserved decadence is a _fool!"_

"Then I'd rather be a fool than a member of your cult!" Sun countered as he stepped forward, putting mere inches between himself and Adam. "You have no appreciation for what you _do_ have, and you're here sitting atop the pile of followers you supposedly care about while trying to convince them to be your shields! The family bonds and sense of community in Kuo Kuana are worth more than what most major cities will ever have in lien! We'll get to their level in time, but it takes patience!"

Adam's anger continued to flare as his face broke out in a nasty scowl. "I've done my waiting… and these people have, too. Enough false promises. Enough thoughts of 'someday'. I have the power, resources, and people to elevate us _now_. My grip upon the White Fang is absolute, now that Sienna Khan has been assassinated by _humans_ , and they will come to cower at our name for their crimes!" Adam snarled.

"You have no power over _anything_ , except through fear," Sun said slowly and carefully. "You appreciate nothing, you _earned_ nothing without using intimidation and taking advantage of people more vulnerable than you, and you're a coward for waiting until now to march into town to try to sway Kuo Kuana to your side. You call _me_ the emotionally unstable little boy? The rage on your face right now and your inability to compromise and adjust is the reason you're going to lose this bid for power… and the reason you lost Blake."

Adam's lip twitched as he let out a frustrated noise. "Enough of this!" Without another word, he cast a gloved hand out to the side, aimed at Fennec, while he kept his eye locked on Sun. Sun followed the gesture to look at the red-robed faunus and his mouth opened in shock as time seemed to slow.

Several members of the crowd gasped as the sheathed katana flew through the air toward Adam, though the blade never made it to him. Adam hesitated for several seconds before he closed his outstretched hand and sucked in a deep breath of disappointment and followed it with a shaky, furious exhale.

"Oh, _now_ what?" he complained, as he let his gaze follow Sun's to where the sword had been intercepted.

Cinnamon stood in the distance between Fennec and Adam, clutching the black sheath that the former had attempted to throw. Wilt remained firmly lodged inside of Blush in Cinnamon's right hand as she glared at Fennec, who slipped backward into the crowd. Slowly, she turned to look at Adam instead, a silent fury in her eyes.

"…there will be no martyrs today. Enough damage has been done on both sides, without spilling blood, and to do harm to this _child_ would only tarnish our image. Back off, _baby_ , and… Sun, was it?" Cinnamon asked as she narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. "Go _home_. Lick your wounds, and stay _out_ of this. Your pointless idealism has no place here, or anywhere else that falls within White Fang territory. This is your first and _only_ warning."

In a clean, graceful motion, Cinnamon turned to address the crowd and folded her arms across her chest, keeping Wilt tight to her body as she projected her voice. "Those of you who can see sense, and wish to join the White Fang in our crusade… there is a large boat with our flag waiting in the harbor. _I_ will be there, and willing to answer all questions you might have about our organization and intentions. Follow me to the docks, and you will see the truth that the Belladonnas failed to admit to you."

Without another word, Cinnamon began to walk forward with purpose as the crowd parted for her as if on cue. Adam spared Sun one last, sidelong glance and let out a small chuckle.

"…you're lucky, little boy. Next time, she won't be there to save you."

Sun chose not to dignify Adam with a response as he watched the older male walk off to follow Cinnamon. He turned, only to collide with Kali as he was scooped into a hug.

" _Sun!_ You really didn't h-"

"I really did," Sun interrupted as he returned the hug. He half-listened as Ghira began to address the people who remained behind, and tried to call back those who had turned to follow Cinnamon. Despite his efforts, he made out few of the words as Kali squeezed him harder still.

"You salvaged what may have been a disaster, and almost…" Kali shook her head, and stepped back as she dropped the hug. "Please, don't take a risk like that again, especially while unarmed. He wouldn't think twice about killing you…"

"I know. I… kinda lost my mind, but… he can't just get away with this!" Sun fumed as he walked past Kali, and up the steps.

"Where are you going?" Kali asked, as her ears perked.

"…where I belong. To Blake," he said with determination as he reached the door of the manor and pushed his way inside.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hey, look, Sun and Adam talked and settled their differences, and _everything will be fine forever, now!_

Consider this the blanket happy birthday to everyone ever, since it seems that all of the reviewers were born around the same time. Crazy how that worked out. As far as planned chapters work out… the speech and Adam interrupting was supposed to happen 10 chapters ago, according to my pacing guide. 50 is looking pretty damned likely right about now, before "this" story "ends."

Make of those quotation marks what you will, but I'm not telling until later. I have a feeling that those following What You Stole will be very, very pleased.

Next update on Thursday, the 18th.

 **-RD**


	36. Insomnia

Sun swallowed hard as he stood outside of the guest room and went over all of the possibilities in his mind once again. Though he had no idea what exactly he was about to walk into, the thought of turning around or doing anything else at all never crossed his mind as he gripped the doorknob and slowly turned it. He listened intently for any movement or indication of Blake behind the wood, but came up with nothing. After a final, deep breath, he pushed forward and stepped inside of the familiar room.

Immediately upon clearing the entryway, Sun was greeted with the jet black barrel of Gambol Shroud aimed squarely at his face, and shaky wildly. Not even a second later, the sight was replaced by Blake's tear-stained face as the weapon dropped to the floor and she launched herself at him. Sun caught the sobbing faunus and wrapped his arms firmly around her back as he trailed one hand up into her hair.

"It's fine, Blake. I'm here. It's just me," Sun reassured over the echoes of several pairs of footsteps from the bottom floor. The sudden noises caused Blake to cry out and shiver, and she squeezed even tighter around his neck. "Hey! It's fine! Everyone's alright, and the house security is double checking that this place is on lockdown."

"It's not fine," Blake protested, her voice a hoarse, hard to decipher mumble as she mashed her face tightly into Sun's collarbone. "I watched for a while from the balcony, and then I couldn't… he's _here_ , Sun! He's in Kuo Kuana, and he knows about _us._ There's only one way this can end, and I c-"

" _Shh_ ," Sun interrupted as he stroked Blake's hair. "Let's not talk about endings. There's nowhere safer to be right now than here, and we've got allies on the inside of the Fang. The best thing we can do right now is just stay put, make a plan with your parents, and wait for word from Ilia."

"We're not going to _get_ word from Ilia, Sun!" Blake nearly shouted as she pulled back slightly to look up at him. "She could have warned us! She _should_ have told us that this was going to happen! She _knows_ I can't deal with this right now!"

"And I'm sure she has good reason for not contacting us. If we really don't hear from her… then I'll get us an answer," Sun resolved as he transferred his hand from the tangles of Blake's hair down to her shoulder. "I'll get through to her, if I have to… but I still have faith. I still think this is going to work out. I got the people to see a little bit of Adam's hypocrisy, at the very least."

Blake's ears perked as she gave him a look of disbelief. "You… _what?_ What happened, after I stopped watching? I only saw a few minutes of the back and forth between you two. When he started trying to justify the attack on Beacon, I just… I couldn't listen anymore. I barely made it that far."

"That's fine. You did your best, Blake. Now, you need to let us be here for you a-"

" _It's not fine!"_ Blake strained as she pushed a fist into Sun's chest. The move caught him off guard, and he fell silent as he watched Blake burst into a fresh round of ugly tears. "It's… _not_ fine. I can't let you fight my battles for me. I _can't_ just keep running, and that was my first instinct _again!_ "

"But you were aware of the possibility," Sun offered. "You at least knew that that was how you would probably react, and gave me warning. I don't mind standing in for you."

"Just because I knew, doesn't mean that it was right," Blake countered. " _Look_ at me. I feel like I can barely stand, just thinking of him. If… _when_ he comes looking for a fight, I'll force myself not to back down. I won't let him steal anything else from me."

"And neither will I," Sun agreed. "He's on our turf, now, and… a-and we've got this," he finished, cursing his momentary hesitation as his thoughts drifted back to the close call that had happened not half an hour before. Sun looked away, hoping that Blake hadn't noticed the sudden hitch in his speech.

"…Sun," Blake began as he shifted his eyes back to meet hers. "What's wrong? You didn't answer my question about what happened, after I came back inside."

"I didn't answer because you moved on to something else," Sun said as his tail twitched nervously.

" _Sun_."

"I…" Sun paused, and every fiber of his being screamed at him to lie. He slammed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth as he inhaled, before making his decision. "…I almost got myself killed. I wasn't thinking, and Fennec… was on standby, with Adam's sword."

Blake's eyes widened as a chill pulsed through her body. "But… then how…"

Sun heaved a sigh, and shook his head. "…Cinnamon. She caught it out of the air, and stopped what probably would have been a massacre. Everything you've said about him is right, Blake. He's delusional, savage, and totally out of control. I don't think he'd actually care if he had to burn down all of Kuo Kuana to get a quarter of these people to follow him to Haven."

"I don't care about Haven right now," Blake seethed. "Don't ever do anything like that again, Sun."

"Don't say that! What was I _supposed_ to do?"

"Stand back and let my father handle it!" Blake insisted as she dug her nails into Sun's chest. He winced, and she pushed away out of the hug and folded her arms. "You put yourself in danger, and got away with it this time, but if he had managed t-"

"I know! I _know,_ alright?" Sun interrupted. "I just… he… he insulted you, and I completely lost it. Something came over me, and I had to defend you, alright? I told you I'd fight him off to protect you, and I felt the need to do it with words… even if I went a little overboard. I'm sorry, okay?" he asked, as he threw his arms out to the sides.

Blake gave Sun an even look, before walking to the bed and flopping backward upon it. Neither said a word as Sun joined her, and copied her motions to end up at her side. The pair of them stared up at the ceiling together in silence, until some sniffles from Blake prompted Sun to take her hand. She entwined her fingers with his, and kept her eyes skyward as she began to speak in a small voice.

"…I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, especially over his insanity. I _need_ you, Sun."

"And I need you. Look, I know you keep saying you need time, but… it's up. It sucks, I know, but we need to face this _now_. I'll text Kali and tell her and your dad to just do their thing, while I help get you back on your feet, alright? But tomorrow… tomorrow, this gets serious. We get up, we sit down, and we make a game plan. A plan that involves Ilia, either as a friend, or… an obstacle," Sun finished ominously.

"…okay," Blake replied as Sun took his scroll out of his pocket. "Just stay with me. Be here, and help me work my way through this."

Sun nodded as he began to type out a message to Kali. He brought his other hand up to wipe away Blake's tears with a thumb, and then cupped her cheek as he pulled her into a gentle kiss.

"We'll get there. Just… think of this as the next big step. A new beginning that we're well prepared for. Together like this, we can handle _anything_."

* * *

Once again, Sun found himself unable to sleep. Over the course of eight hours, the only things that had changed had been his lack of shirt and positioning, as he and Blake found themselves higher up on the bed and their heads upon pillows. Blake cuddled tightly into his side as they talked for the majority of the early evening, until she had slowly fallen asleep. Sun had closed his own eyes and attempted to follow her into a peaceful dreamscape, only to find countless thoughts anchoring him in the waking world.

The scenario of the speech replayed in his mind over and over on an endless loop. Sometimes, Adam managed to catch his sword. Others, Sun was quick enough to draw his staff and counterattack before Adam even managed to get Wilt out of its sheath. Occasionally, Sun found himself on the ground, a horrible, warm liquid spilling from his stomach as the moment rewound and began again. In another version, he was standing over Adam, who had been beaten into the dirt and left broken and bleeding by the confrontation.

In both scenarios, Sun felt the same way; _horrified_ , both at the thought of one of two lives being lost as a direct result of his actions, and of what either outcome would do to Blake.

In the few moments that other thoughts filtered in, Sun found his mind on Blake, primarily, and the progression of their relationship. Once or twice, he had wondered where Neptune was, and how he had handled the situation with their team. At that exact moment, however, Sun's thoughts were on Ilia, and he felt an intense, surging feeling of frustration grip his chest.

As though on cue, Sun's scroll vibrated and caused him to twitch uncomfortably in surprise. Blake groaned and tightened her grip around his arm as he fished through his pocket with the other to draw his scroll and bring it to his face. A photo of Ilia greeted him, along with a short line of text.

 _Be there in ten. I have an hour, at best._

Sun felt his frustration boiling up into anger as he slid his thumb across the screen, and began to move backward to sit up in bed.

 _Blake's room._

Without waiting for a response, he slipped the scroll back into his pocket, and rested his hand atop Blake's arm. Her eyes fluttered open into half-awake slits as she let out an adorable yawn, her head naturally rising from the pillow.

"…Sun…?"

"…Ilia's here. I'm going alone," he said firmly as he rubbed at Blake's knuckles. She considered him through a sleepy haze, before letting herself crash back into the pillow below.

"…you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"No," Sun answered quickly. "I want you to go back to sleep, and pretend I never woke you. I'll be back soon," he reassured as he gently picked Blake's hands and arm off his own. She allowed it, before closing her eyes once again.

"If you're sure. Love you."

"You, too," Sun nodded as he slipped out of bed. He headed for the door and elected to leave his shirt and shoes behind while he made his way out and through the halls, down the familiar path.

Again, rushing winds echoed along the paper walls, and Sun narrowed his eyes at the staccato sounds of raindrops against the roof. He shook his head as he made his way toward Blake's room, and drew his weapon from the back of his belt. Sun flicked his wrists and swirled the separate parts to form a long, red and gold staff as he pushed through the door, and flicked the light switch. He was greeted with nothing, and moved toward the balcony door with a huff.

Sun slid back the paper and looked outside into the darkness and pouring rain to try to catch sight of Ilia, but came up with only droplets and distant lights. Annoyed once again, he turned and began to pace the room, weapon clenched tightly in hand, as he focused on the sound of the rain to try to calm his thoughts. Minutes passed until a familiar voice met his ears, and he stopped in mid-stride to look at the speaker.

"Sun? It's just me. Why are you armed?"

Ilia stood wide-eyed and nervous in the door frame, wearing a deep blue spaghetti strap top and black pajama pants. She was soaked to the bone, hair hanging straight and soggy as she held her arms and shivered. Sun's anger began to melt away almost immediately at the sight, before flaring up again as he looked away.

"…because you've got some explaining to do, Ilia."

Ilia cast her eyes to the floor with a guilty look as she shivered. "Look, I'm sorry! If I had a chance to safely make a call, I would have! I barely managed to keep in touch with Cinnamon while we were on the island! What if one of them asked to see my scroll, or overheard me? Sun, there was just no way th-"

"No," Sun cut in. "Not that. Why, exactly, did Adam need to know about my past?"

Ilia made a pained noise as she slowly began to approach Sun. "…I… I had to give him _something_."

"Not that!" Sun said with an icy tone.

" _Yes_ , that!" Ilia insisted. "My entire job in Kuo Kuana was to keep an eye on the Belladonna manor. He asked for what I learned in my time here, and if I gave him nothing but the obvious…" Ilia paused, before looking up at Sun defiantly. "Consider what he almost did to you, earlier today. Think about what he'd do to _me_ , if he found out the truth."

Sun took several breaths before setting his weapon down on the bed, and heading toward the bathroom. Ilia followed, but stayed several steps behind as he began to speak once again.

"…what, exactly, did you tell him?"

"…everything. Everything, but the fact that I'm on your side. He knows about your relationship, and he knows what I know about _you_. Someone told him that I had two scrolls on me. I _had_ to give him something good, after he mentioned that, so… he now has a copy of all of the files I took from your scroll. I'd probably be dead, otherwise. I… it's my fault, for not being careful enough around the Fang, and not keeping your scroll hidden. I'm sorry, Sun. I wouldn't have said anything, if that was an option," Ilia admitted with a sniffle.

Sun emerged from the bathroom with a fluffy black towel, and closed the distance between them almost immediately. Without a word, he draped the fabric over Ilia's shoulders and began to ruffle it against her skin as he kept his eyes away from hers. She extended her arms out to the sides to give Sun access, and he wrapped the towel around them, one after the other, to dry the exposed skin.

"…why are you wearing pajamas in the middle of a rainstorm?"

"I had to sneak out from the Notched Blade," Ilia explained. "I didn't exactly have a choice, and now I'm _freezing_."

Sun let out a guilty sigh as he made his way over to Blake's dresser, and peered inside. He closed the top drawer as he was met with a pile of panties, and tried the next, only to find her collection of nighties. He pulled out a blue one, and offered it to Ilia.

"…here. I'll turn around. Just… finish toweling off, and I'll explain it to her in the morning."

Ilia accepted the garment with a thankful nod, and Sun turned away from her as she began to strip.

"Thanks. Sun… I'm _really_ sorry, but it might have been life and death. I know I screwed everything up worse than it already is, but… can you try to forgive me, eventually? I plan on keeping my promise to stick with you two."

"…I already have," Sun admitted as he shook his head. "Even though you… _really_ complicated things today, and Adam knows too much… you're still my little sis."

Ilia's facial scales flushed pink as she finished drying herself off, and rolled on the nightie. She began to work the towel through her hair as she cleared her throat. "…you can turn around now."

Sun did as she said, and couldn't help but smile ever so slightly as he noticed her coloration and guilty grin.

"What? It's true. I'm not giving up on you _that_ easily. I'm just… a little annoyed. I'll get over it," Sun reassured as he moved to sit on the edge of Blake's bed.

"Thanks. I really don't deserve you," Ilia commented as she sat down beside him and continued to dry her hair.

"Yeah, well, whatever. I'm not going anywhere, whether you like it or not. Where did you go, after everything went down? Did you learn or see anything useful?" Sun asked.

"Well… yes, and no," Ilia began. "Cinnamon attracted one hell of a crowd to her ship, and she spent the rest of the day fielding questions and instructing citizens of Kuo Kuana to pack their shit and get ready to head out. A _lot_ of people went, Sun. It's… really not a great situation, right now."

"And what about Adam?" Sun inquired as he uncomfortably shifted his weight.

"He was on the boat most of the day, with Cinnamon… but I left for the Blade to book a room after a while, so I would have an opportunity to get to you guys. I know the ship left the harbor a few hours ago, with a lot of people on it… but I don't know if Adam was among them," Ilia confessed as she crumpled the towel into a soggy ball and rested it atop her knees.

" _Great_ ," Sun griped. "So he's either here and waiting to make his move, or en route to Haven Academy with an army of gullible morons. The people still here have _no_ reason to believe us that he's going to make an attack at the school. I guess that means we need to pack up, head for the Academy, and do our best to defend it while leaving Kuo Kuana vulnerable."

"Unless… I give you my scroll," Ilia said slowly. "I don't have anything from Adam himself, but… maybe if I ask Cinnamon, she would tell me, and then you could use it as evidence?"

Pins and needles rushed through Sun's arms as he looked Ilia over.

"… _no_. No, if we do that, you _will_ get killed. I'm not putting you in jeopardy like that," Sun said with a sense of finality.

"What other choices do we have, right now? We can trust Cinnamon," Ilia said with confidence. "She's told me a lot over the past few days, and she probably saved your _life_ , earlier today. If I ask, she'll probably at least tell me we're headed to Haven, in writing. That, along with some of the other things I have on my scroll should be proof enough that the Academy is in danger. Besides… she _let_ me defuse her bombs, while I was away with the Fang. She might even help us defend the Academy, at this point."

"Ilia…" Sun started, but trailed off. "I… don't know. I don't know what to do, right now. Can you stay the night, and talk to us, and Blake's parents, tomorrow morning, so we can come up with a plan all together?"

Ilia shook her head sadly as she looked over to the open balcony. "If Adam's still here tomorrow, and I'm suddenly missing… it's not going to look good. I should _really_ get back…"

Sun let out a ragged sigh, and cradled his head in his hands. "Damn it all. Alright, then… just go. Take another nightie with you, wrap it in a fresh towel, and change, once you get back to the Blade. Just… promise me you'll contact us as soon as it's safe again, and then try to get over here? We're getting close to the time that you're going to have to stand with us in the open."

"I know, Sun. Trust me, I know… and I'm scared," Ilia said as she scooped up her damp clothing and rolled it into the soggy towel. She made her way to the dresser and grabbed another garment, before dipping into the bathroom and taking another towel. "But… it's less scary, when I've got you and Blake to protect me. I'll be back soon."

"You better be," Sun instructed as he pushed himself off the edge of the bed and made his way to Ilia. She leaned up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek, and he pulled her into a quick squeeze in response.

"Well… we're really in deep now, huh? Get some rest, and I'll see you again as soon as possible. Don't text me. I'll text you."

"I know," Sun affirmed. "Goodnight, Ilia. Try to get some sleep, yourself."

"Oh, I absolutely won't," Ilia said as she headed to the door and slipped out onto the balcony. She gave Sun a small wave, which he returned, before she disappeared over the railing and into the rain.

"…and neither will I," Sun said to no one in particular as he slid the balcony door closed once again, only to rest his forehead against the wooden support. " _Fuck_."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I suppose now is as good of a time as any to admit it, given what I said about chapter count at the end of the last chapter- we're going up through Volume 6 in this story. Get ready for some pretty huge departures from canon… as well as Cinnamon's purpose in RWBY to all come together. The hints are there already, with more to come. Keep an eye out.

On the same subject, 50 is just a guess… but remember, this story was originally a 10-chapter little look into Sun and Blake's relationship during volume 4. Then, I actually thought I'd somehow get all the way up through volume 6 within 30 chapters. I am the worst judge of story length in history, so just assume that this story will go up to that point, and then… some things will happen. Big, mysterious things.

Next update on Sunday, the 21st.

 **-RD**


	37. By Any Other Name

"Mom, we _can't_ just go back out there and start trying to win people over. They won't just follow us to Haven without more evidence, and… Adam might still be in town. Sun said that Ilia told him that Adam might be in Kuo Kuana, instead of on that boat!"

"We can't just sit here and wait for him to attack us, and we can't just leave, so we need to find a middle ground!"

"Hey, ladies, with all due respect, you're _both_ right, but arguing isn't going to get us anywhere…"

"I'm _not_ leaving the house, unless we all go together."

"And _I'm_ not sitting here and waiting for our home to turn into a deathtrap!"

 _"Enough_ ," Ghira commanded in a booming voice as he raised his hands. He sat, eyes closed and legs crossed, before a low table playing host to a tea kettle, four cups, and a breakfast spread. Kali and Blake both stopped arguing immediately, and Sun merely sipped his tea as he remained silent and shifted his attention to Ghira.

"That's _enough_ , from both of you. We're getting nowhere, and wasting time. Both of your statements have merit, but we can only be pulled in so many directions at once, before we snap. It's time we choose a path to focus on, and stick to it. Personally, I think we should reconsider our levels of personal protection, and remain together. Then, and _only_ then, do I support the idea of going out into town to see what we can do with the remaining peoples' hearts and minds."

Blake scowled as her ears flattened back against her skull. "Dad, for the last time, I'm not wearing _armor_."

"And why not? I just want to see you with a bit more protection!" Ghira stated incredulously.

"Because I'm not used to it, and we have _aura_ for that! It would just weigh me down, and… can't you just be happy that I'm wearing more clothes, now?" Blake asked in annoyance.

Sun raised a finger as he kept his teacup raised in the other hand. "Just saying, that's because you stole _my_ shirt."

"And it looks _great_ on you, dear," Kali added. "I especially like the way you leave the top few buttons open, to give us all a good look at your bra."

" _Mom!_ "

"No comment," Sun offered as he once again sipped his tea. Ghira shook his head, and drew in a deep breath.

" _Focus_ , all of you. If armor is off the table, then it's time w-"

"Actually…" Sun began as he set his cup down. "I… wouldn't mind looking into it, if it'd make you feel better."

Ghira blinked in surprise as he quirked a brow. "…really, now? You seemed resistant to the idea, before."

"Yeah, well, I'll take any advantage I can get. C'mon, let's go check it out. You have it in some room deeper in the mansion, right?" Sun asked as he rose from his sitting position. Blake merely shook her head, as Kali put a hand on her shoulder and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"I do, yes," Ghira agreed as he followed suit and stood up next to Sun. He looked down at his wife and daughter as Blake stole a piece of bacon from the pile of food, looking annoyed. "Will you two be alright, for a bit?"

" _Yeah_ ," Blake said dismissively. "Go and cover yourself in bulky metal. Mom and I will clean up, and then double-check the security detail. Then, _maybe_ we can head into town."

"Sure thing! Just… take it easy, okay?" Sun asked as he ran through a series of arm stretches. "We've still gotta talk more, later, and get you back to your prime."

"Yeah. Have fun," Blake deadpanned as she waved a hand toward Sun. He merely shook his head and followed along as Ghira began to walk. The patriarch remained silent until they had made their third turn, deeper into the mansion and clearly out of earshot.

"…you seem tense."

Sun frowned as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, and became very interested in the floorboards as he walked along. "…aren't you?"

"A little," Ghira admitted as he made another turn, and led Sun even deeper into unfamiliar parts of the manor. "However, your ever-present smile seems about ready to crack. I may not know you as well as Blake does, but it seems to me that something unpleasant is brewing beneath the surface. What's going on?"

"Well… I'm thinking of proposing to your daughter."

" _What!?"_ Ghira nearly yelled as he stopped mid-stride, and turned to face Sun in utter shock. The younger faunus snorted a bit as his face broke out into a cheesy grin.

" _Gotcha_."

Ghira grumbled and shook his head, before turning once again and beginning to walk. "…a month and a half ago, I would have put you through the wall for that."

"A month and a half ago, and I probably would've peed myself if you even threatened to," Sun admitted.

"Yes, yes, but… things are different, now. And you still haven't answered my question," Ghira pressed as he stopped before a large iron door with circular knockers on either side.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at that," Sun pointed out. "Or… absolutely awful at it, since Blake calls me on it all the time. I didn't get much sleep, and I've got a lot on my mind. Gonna be totally honest with you, but I'm… really not huge on the idea of armor. I agreed to come with you for other reasons."

Ghira threw his hands up, and shook his head. "Why does _everyone_ seem to have an issue with armor, in this family? Just… shoulder pads! A reinforced _belt!_ Something, _anything_ to give yourself that much more protection!"

"Whoa, _whoa!_ " Sun said as he raised his hands defensively. "I'll try it out, sure, it's just… not the main reason. The biggest thing is… I kinda wanted to apologize for going off on Adam, and ruining the flow of your speech. I've been thinking about it, and it's one of many things that kept me awake. I feel like I may have done some damage, by being so… brash? And vulgar. And… stupid," Sun finished as he dropped one hand, and brought the other around to scratch the back of his head.

Ghira's features softened as he laid a massive hand atop Sun's shoulder. "…son."

"…uh… yeah?" Sun questioned as he blinked in confusion.

"…no. _Son_. With an 'o'. As in, _my son_." Ghira paused for a moment to let the sentiment click, and smirked softly as Sun's eyes widened in comprehension. "What you did wasn't stupid, by any means. You acted from the heart, and such a move is _never_ stupid."

"But…"

"No. No 'buts', and no regrets. Yes, I had more to say to the people, but in the context of Adam interrupting me, it made little sense to continue on as planned. In truth, had you not jumped in and dressed him down in front of all of Kuo Kuana, I'm… not entirely sure how I would have handled the situation," Ghira confessed.

"Probably with more grace than I did, at the very least. I mean, I got him pissed enough to try to murder me, and he spun my words against us," Sun said as his shoulders deflated a bit. Ghira tightened his grip, and frowned softly.

"Even so… grace is not always the answer. You showed passion in spades, and those who remain here and consider supporting us are the faunus I would want at our side in the battles to come. Those who saw not how, but _why_ you acted as you did will prove more valuable allies than any who went to the White Fang ship to discuss pay, politics, and pushing blame onto humans for all of the problems plaguing the faunus." Ghira patted Sun's shoulder, before letting his hand drop to his side. "Cheer up. You did fine."

Sun allowed himself a forced, uneven smirk as he nodded. "If you say so… but I'm still going to try to hold back a bit. I'm… not sure how I feel about that impulsive, angry side of myself. It reminds me a bit of the way that…" Sun paused, and shook his head with an annoyed exhale. "…the way that Blake talks about _him._ "

Ghira folded his arms across his chest. "Believe me, whatever comparison you're drawing between the two of you… it's incredibly misguided, and a needless worry. You are _nothing_ like him, nor will you ever be. If you call what you did 'snapping' then you should have no worries about turning out like Adam. When Adam 'snaps', people die. Are you worried that Blake is going to start seeing him in you?"

Sun looked away, and nodded slowly. "She… I… I really don't want to talk about some of the reasons why, but…"

"If it will help, then feel free. If _I_ am uncomfortable seeing you like this, then imagine how Blake will feel, if you hold on to these notions," Ghira replied.

"…she does some things with me that she's only ever done with Adam, apparently. Sometimes, I catch myself saying, or doing things that remind me of things she's said about him, and…"

"…what kind of 'things' are you talking about?" Ghira inquired. "You're talking in circles and being needlessly vague."

Sun shifted his weight uncomfortably as he dared to look up at Ghira. "Uh, well. Sexy… things…?"

Ghira closed his eyes, and brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose with his fingers for a moment. "Such things are natural, for couples of your age. As much as I don't like it, I think your concerns are unfounded, and honestly, ridiculous. Has _she_ ever compared the two of you, directly?"

"No, but…"

"Then take it from her, and take it from me, two people who know Adam very well. You are nothing like him. Stop stewing in your doubts and feelings of inadequacy, and redirect your energy elsewhere," Ghira ordered as he crossed his arms once again.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, I'm… just a bit of a mess, right now. So is Blake, and seeing her like she was last night is kinda bringing me down, too. When she soars, I feel like I'm on top of the world. When things get ugly, it's like being in quicksand," Sun explained as he shook out his hands in a full-body shiver.

"That is simply called love, Sun. Young love, specifically. You're doing a fine job of showing it, and keeping her sane. For that, I am eternally grateful," Ghira said as he turned and gripped one of the iron knockers.

"You really think so?" Sun asked as he moved to take position behind Ghira.

"I know so. I haven't seen her smile the way she does around you since she was just a little girl. You brought back my daughter, even if she only surfaces on occasion. I owe you the world for that," Ghira said as he pulled the door open and stepped inside. Sun followed, and his eyes widened as he beheld the large vault of weaponry, armor, and artifacts that awaited.

"Whoa," Sun exclaimed as he entered the chamber. Two large, cylindrical pillars stood three times his height and connected floor to ceiling in the center of the room. Each was decorated with various axes, spears, swords, and shields mounted in brackets, and still more war implements were arranged neatly along the walls. Several mannequins dressed in full suits of armor that looked tailored to fit Ghira stood in random locations around the floor, and the décor was topped off by several display cases featuring artifacts. Two house attendants, each armed with a high-tech looking firearm, stood silently before the pillars and eyed Sun suspiciously as Ghira moved ahead of him.

"At ease," he commanded with a raised hand. The pair of guards nodded and stepped off to the side, before Ghira turned and faced Sun once again. "Welcome to the Belladonna 'vault', I suppose you could call it."

Sun furrowed his brow as he walked up to one of the pillars, and began to look over an ornately decorated axe that featured embossed vines trailing up the haft. "Did you… make these? _Buy_ these? Are they heirlooms, or…?"

"No, yes, and yes," Ghira answered as he moved to stand beside Sun. "Many of these items were gifts, as well. My own personal weaponry fits into that category."

Sun's confused expression remained unchanging as he eyed Ghira up and opened his mouth, only to close it again. "Uh… _what_ weaponry? I've never seen you with anything, even when we were checking the house for Ilia that one night."

Ghira chuckled at the sentiment. " _Exactly_."

Quite suddenly, the pointed pauldron on Ghira's left shoulder almost seemed to come alive. The curved metal beneath the protruding spike extended down his upper arm in a series of overlapping metal plates that worked their way down and around his elbow, and stopped at the back of his fist. Within seconds, his entire left arm was completely protected in a flexible steel, as natural panther claws extended from his nails.

"Uh… holy _crap_ ," Sun offered as he looked over the intimidating sight. "You've had that this entire time?"

"I have," Ghira admitted. With a flick of his wrist, the contraption began to fold back into itself and tuck neatly back beneath the shoulder pad as he retracted his claws. "Never underestimate the advantage that surprise can bring. Of course, against _Adam_ , such a thing is hardly an unknown. There are several pieces of transforming weaponry and armor here, though this is the one that I feel most comfortable with. I would implore you to spend some time here, and select something of your own."

Sun let his eyes wander from Ghira's shoulder down to his other piece of armor, before looking back up to Ghira's face. The older faunus sighed, and shook his head.

"…I _know_ you're thinking something, and it's probably something I'll regret entertaining. Out with it."

"So, uh, does the belt transform? Like a… like into a jockstrap, or something? You know, for protect-"

" _No_."

"…didn't think so, but I had to ask," Sun replied sheepishly as he made his way over to a display case.

"Of _course_ you did. Shall I leave you to take it all in, and come to a decision? I have half a mind to go and check on Kali and Blake," Ghira stated as he cracked his knuckles.

"Wait, hold on, just a second?" Sun said with a sigh. He looked down through the glass of the display, and eyed the contents. A row of sparkling gems laid upon a velvet cushion within, and Sun found himself almost unable to tear his eyes from their luster.

"What is it?" Ghira asked as he made a slow approach back to Sun's side.

"…two quick things. First, I know that… you're insisting that I'm nothing like Adam, but I feel like I should admit that even if that's true, I'm not perfect. There's still a lot you don't know about me. Stuff that might… not really sit well with you?" Sun said in a half-statement, half-question.

"And what sort of 'stuff' might that entail?" Ghira asked. Once again, he put a hand upon Sun's shoulder, and gave the boy his undivided attention.

Sun squirmed a bit beneath Ghira's hand, and heaved a sigh as he finally tore his eyes off the jewels and brought them up to meet Ghira's. "…I used to be a thief. A good one, too. Mrs. H, the woman who ran the foster home I was stuck at, she used to come up short on money for food every so often. There were just too many of us, and she never turned a kid away. So… I 'helped out' the only way I knew how, when I was young. I used to go into town and play up the helplessness, or do small favors for people who looked like they had a decent amount of money, before fleecing them out of some lien, or belongings I could pawn off."

Ghira let out his own heavy sigh, before giving Sun's shoulder a gentle pat and dropping his arm back to his side. "You are correct that I don't… _appreciate_ those sorts of actions, but I can hardly crucify you for taking that route as a child. You were just trying to help, after all."

Sun looked away, and felt his shoulders tense up as he spoke a quick reply. "…I never stopped."

No retort came from Ghira, though Sun knew that his eyes were boring holes through him and awaiting an explanation.

"I mean, I haven't stolen anything since we reached Kuo Kuana, mostly because Blake hates it… and I also don't really have an excuse for continuing to do it. Like I said, I got good at it. Getting good at it made it easy, and it getting easy made it routine… even after I left, and didn't really need to steal, anymore. I guess… seeing gems like this reminded me of it. They're exactly the sort of thing I'd lift," Sun finished as he shook his head.

Ghira fell silent for a long period. Sun stole glances back and forth between him and the display case as he held his breath for what seemed like an eternity.

"… _Sun_. I expect you to stop such behavior, _permanently_. Our family, especially in the position of power within Kuo Kuana that we've found ourselves, cannot be seen associating with _thieves_. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir. I'm sorry. I'm… keeping it in check. Promise," Sun insisted as he rubbed at his arm.

"Good. I do appreciate your honesty and forthrightness, but the point stands. What else did you want to say?" Ghira inquired.

Sun made a pained noise, and shook his head. "I… think maybe I should have asked the second one, first. Now might not be a good time, if you're not exactly happy with me."

"Out with it, boy," Ghira said as he rolled his eyes. "I may not be _thrilled_ , but you haven't exactly 'damaged' our relationship, if that's what you're worried about. I never expected perfection from you, but you've come far closer to it than I ever imagined you might."

Sun felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of his neck, and he cleared his throat as he moved away from Ghira and distracted himself with another display case.

"Uh, I mean, you don't have to answer, if you don't want to, but… can I ask how long you've been calling me… 'son'? Like, with an 'o'? Was this the first time, or…?"

An odd surge of pins and needles crept up Sun's back as Ghira chuckled in a deep, bassy tone from somewhere behind him. Footsteps echoed out against the tiled floor of the room as Ghira made his way toward the large iron doors, and paused momentarily.

"Since you and I went into the forest to gather wood," he answered, before making his way out of the room to leave Sun alone with the collection.

Sun watched curiously as he saw his reflection start to smile involuntarily within the glass of the display case.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Another step toward big events coming, both related to canon, and not. The big departures will start soon enough, and as for Volume 6… it's definitely going to be interesting.

Next update on Wednesday, the 24th.

 **-RD**


	38. Like a Wet Blanket

Blake angrily nibbled at a piece of bacon as she watched Sun walk off with her father, and let out a heavy breath through her noise. Kali didn't say a word as she reached over to the tea kettle and refilled Blake's cup, only for the younger faunus to whip her head around and glare angrily.

"Oh my _gods_ , Mom! I'm _fine!_ "

Kali paused and hiked a brow as she held the kettle steady above the table, before resuming her motion and setting it down lightly.

"…honey. _Breathe_."

Blake grumbled as she finished the bacon strip, and let out a tremendous sigh. Kali busied herself with sipping her own tea, before holding the cup in front of herself and idly letting the warmth of the ceramic travel into her hands. She allowed her daughter to continue to fume as she watched Blake snatch a piece of toast as though she was starving.

"Blake… you realize I didn't say anything, right? We all know that you have it rough right now, and we all understand how serious this is… but you're winding yourself tight enough to snap. Part of the reason Sun just left is probably to avoid being around when you lose it," Kali said calmly as she took another sip.

"Yeah? And what about _you_ keeping our little fight going, and making everyone uncomfortable? And then suddenly, you just want to stop? Why, to save face? Or because you realize how ridiculous it is to just march into town and look for Adam?" Blake questioned as she ran a nervous hand through her hair. Kali watched as Blake's hand jittered while partially hidden amongst the raven locks, and shook her head.

"It has nothing to do with 'saving face', and everything to do with restoring calm. We're a _family_. Disagreements are bound to happen, and your father was right- we can't afford infighting right now. That, and I told you to drop it for Sun's sake. We both know that he's reaching his limit, as well," Kali added.

"And what about _my_ limit? What if all I want right now is for him to stay here, with me, so I can lean into him and just… try to disappear, or pretend this isn't happening, or eventually come up with a plan?" Blake whined. "What if I need him right now?"

"What if you gave him every signal in the world that screamed the opposite, instead?" Kali asked.

Blake paused and bit her lip, before dropping her toast back onto her plate with a huff. "What if I'm terrified of everything right now, and I don't want him to see that?"

"It's a little late for that," Kali replied as she scooted closer to her daughter and offered a hug. Blake leaned, and truly, almost fell into the embrace as her mother caught her. Her ears drooped into a sad, defeated display as she closed her eyes and returned the hug in silence.

"Honey… I think that Sun made the right call. He's incredibly good at reading you, and giving you what you need. Don't you agree?" Kali asked as she offered Blake a gentle squeeze.

"… _yeah_ ," Blake admitted with a groan. "But it sucks. Everything sucks."

" _He_ doesn't suck. He's giving you space to collect your thoughts, and likely dealing with some of his own worries, with Ghira. I'm sure he'll be back in a few minutes, and when he returns, you owe him some love," Kali said as she ruffled Blake's hair.

"There's never a moment when I don't, Mom. Even when he's going through a crisis, he _always_ spins it back to focus on me. I've been trying for like a week to set something up for him… just… _one day_ where he's the focus, and we get away from my problems and stupid insecurities. It's just that… things keep happening. Every time we get near a moment where I can pamper him, I get blindsided by some kind of bullshit that ruins it all. I feel guilty, and needy, and… like dead weight," Blake admitted as she let the last words out with a heartbreaking finality.

Kali gently rocked Blake in her grasp as she continued to play with her daughter's hair. With a sad smirk, she rested her chin atop Blake's head, and closed her eyes.

"We've been over this. You know exactly what I'm going to say, don't you?"

"… _please_ don't tell me 'that's just life'."

"That's just life," Kali agreed as Blake let out another groan. "You know it's true. The best laid plans, and all that. The time will come when you can finally turn the dynamic of your relationship around on supporting him, but for now, it just isn't meant to be. Not yet. As much as you feel like it's unfair to keep taking, you _need_ his support, especially with Adam on the loose in Kuo Kuana. I have a theory as to why Sun is the way he is, based on the bits of information he keeps letting slip," Kali mused.

"…because he's too pure, innocent, and self-sacrificing for this world?" Blake asked. "He's like the eternal boy scout, and that's honestly starting to worry me. He told me what almost happened in the square, and he seriously needs to be more aware that we're dealing with people who aren't going to offer second chances and the opportunity to just talk things out."

"Not quite, though you aren't wrong. He _has_ relied upon you for support, at least a little, what with his past. However… I get the sense that there's more to it, and more to _him_ , internally," Kali said as she shifted Blake to lay upon her lap. Blake looked up at her with curiosity as she continued.

"I think that little bit of reliance upon you was testing the waters, to see what you can handle, and how he personally feels with trusting you with knowing his inner workings. Perhaps, subconsciously, he's supporting you first to build you up. Maybe he knows that you _can't_ handle just 'one more thing' about him, without overloading and dragging both of you down. Maybe he's holding back and trying to fix you, so that you can help fix him. That kind of dedication is a rare and wonderful thing."

Blake searched her mother's eyes as she listened, and then pulled her lips into a frown. "…so I'm not good enough to know the truth, yet."

"…I _will_ slap you," Kali threatened. "That isn't at all what I'm saying. If you _really_ think about it, and reflect on how your relationship has gone thus far, I think you'll find that his behavior and support makes a lot of sense."

Blake shifted uncomfortably in her mother's grasp, and folded her arms across her chest. "…maybe. But, what makes you so sure? Where is all of this insight coming from? It's not like you can read his mind."

"I don't need to," Kali replied as she shook her head. "I just recognize that Sun and I aren't as different as you might think. The start of my relationship with your father mirrors your own more than you'll ever know."

Blake sat up almost immediately, and turned to face Kali. "…what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Kali shook her head and offered a sad smile and wave of her hand in response. "…I'll tell you, one day. When you're older."

Blake's ears folded back as she crossed her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes. "I'm an _adult_."

"An adult who isn't in any state to deal with something like that, right now. Just take comfort in the fact that when I say Sun is a good fit for you, I speak from experience. Stick with him, trust him, and melt into his constant embrace without worrying about the balance of your relationship. The foundation is there. It'll work out how you want it to, so long as you just go with it," Kali advised.

"Your mother is right," came the booming voice of Ghira as he walked back into the room and returned to where he had previously sat. "Sun is a fine young man, and one that I am proud to have as a member of this family."

Blake watched in confusion with her mouth agape as her father sat down, before closing it and clearing her throat. "You… _what?_ "

"What?" Ghira repeated as he held out his cup. Kali smirked as she titled the kettle to pour, and kissed Ghira on the cheek before he pulled back after his cup was full. "I've said before that I appreciate having him here. This isn't the first time I've been wrong about someone."

Blake sputtered as she grabbed for her own cup. "Yeah, sure, but… not that _blatantly_. What just happened, while you two were away?"

Ghira waved his free hand as he sipped at his tea, before lowering the cup to chest level. "Nothing special. I simply believe that it's something you need to hear right now, in addition to being the truth. I couldn't be more proud of both of you, in terms of who and what you're becoming."

"Even when you feel like you need to spell it out for me, because I'm a mess?" Blake questioned with a scowl. "First it was Sun, then it was Mom, and now, it's you. Do you really think I'm that close to just losing it?"

"Yes," Kali and Ghira answered in unison. Blake sighed heavily, and shook her head.

" _Wow_. Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Sweetheart," Kali began. Blake avoided her eyes as she continued to speak, and put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "We _just_ talked about this. It's perfectly fine to admit that you need a little support."

"Even to your incredibly lame parents," Ghira added. "You know, it's not lost on me that Sun is giving you space for your own benefit. The storm cloud above your head is practically dampening the carpet, at this point. While he's in the armory, I decided to come back and offer you a bit of reassurance in his place."

Blake stared down into her tea for a long while, and watched as her reflection distorted and danced in accordance with the small, panicked movements of her hand. After a few silent moments of soul searching, she closed her eyes, and began to speak.

"…why am I the only one who can't see it? Why do all three of you know what's going on, while I feel like I'm just wandering around in the dark, bumbling into things and hoping that they end up being what I need?"

Ghira set down his cup and moved closer to Blake as she turned her head to look at him. "Because you keep asking your guiding light why it's there, instead of simply allowing him to give you new perspective and aid where you need it most."

Blake turned her attention to Kali, who merely nodded at Ghira's words. "…I think I get it. I'll… try. I'll try to just 'go with it'."

Kali smiled as she and Ghira moved in from either side to trap Blake within a family hug. "There you go. Trust us. Things may seem dark right now, but so long as we stick together, we can handle Adam, and whatever the future holds. There's just one piece missing…" Kali trailed off as a set off footsteps echoed down the corridor from behind Blake, and Sun reentered the room. Ghira grumbled slightly as he noticed that Sun carried no armor or new weaponry with him, but elected to say nothing.

"…'sup. I miss something…?"

"Just a dogpile on Blake," Kali replied as she nodded toward Blake's back. Sun moved into position and hugged Blake from behind as he sat down, only to earn a shiver and squeak.

"Okay, _okay_ , too much, people," Blake complained. All three of the other faunus let go of her, only for Blake to whirl and quite nearly pounce onto Sun. The young male fell to the floor on his back as Kali and Ghira returned to their spots around the table.

"…I missed you."

"…I was gone for like 20 minutes! At _most!"_ Sun whined as Blake wrapped her arms around his back.

"Believe me, _I know_ ," Blake replied as she locked him into a kiss. Sun braced his hands upon her shoulders and leaned up to guide her back into a sitting position, his cheeks turning scarlet as Kali gave them a wolf whistle. The pair broke the kiss, only for Sun to smile nervously.

"Is everything alright…?"

" _More_ than alright. I think w-"

A sudden vibration from Sun's pocket rattling against the wooden floor interrupted Blake's statement, and the room fell eerily silent as the pair looked at each other. Sun felt his breath hitch in his chest as he remained still, only for Blake to speak.

"…is it… is it Ilia? You should pick up…"

Ghira furrowed his brows as Sun reached into his pocket, and brought the scroll to eye level.

"…no. It's… unknown. I don't…"

"Put it on speaker," Kali instructed. Sun nodded as he set the scroll onto the center of the table and did as he was told. He cleared his throat, and leaned slightly over the device.

"Uh… hello…?" Sun began. A shiver tingled from his tail all the way up through his spine as a familiar, smooth, and ominous voice came through the line.

" _Hello, Sun. I think we should have a little chat. Privately, this time."_

The sentence was punctuated by an odd scraping noise, followed by a weighty _click_.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Lots of interesting stuff going on in the reviews, and I'm going to keep my mouth shut on this one in terms of theories about characters and the path ahead. It's _definitely_ fun to watch, though, and some answers are coming soon.

Others won't show up until the final chapter.

Next update is Saturday.

 **-RD**


	39. Lesson Learned

Blake's eyes widened and she scooted backward as the voice came through the scroll upon the table. Ghira clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes as he focused upon the device, and Kali clasped her hands and rested them in front of her mouth while she listened. Sun sucked in a rattling breath, and cracked his knuckles with a shiver. Finally, he closed his eyes and began to speak as a familiar sensation of rage began to boil up within his chest.

"What do you _want_ , Adam?"

" _Not the best listener, are we?"_ the voice teased, before letting out a condescending laugh. " _Like I just said- I want to talk. You, me, and no one else. Are you alone?"_

" _Yes_ , I'm alone, but I won't be for long," Sun lied. "We'll take this to the authorities, and trace the call. We'll find you," he threatened through clenched teeth.

 _"Oh, I hope that you do. I'd like nothing more than for you to deliver yourself to me, wrapped in a nice little bow. Or, if you're feeling generous, deliver Blake, as well."_

Blake slid her knees up into her chest and wrapped her arms around them as Kali moved in and enclosed her in another crushing hug. Both remained silent as Ghira stood, careful not to make any noise, and walked toward the doorway to lean against the wall. He fumed silently as he watched Sun, who pressed his hands down into the wooden floor until his fingers started to go white.

"…yeah, that's _not_ happening. How about you stop being difficult and get to the point? You want to talk? _Talk_ , before my patience runs out, and I hang up," Sun spat.

Another harsh, arrogant laugh came over the line, before Adam sighed. Sun balled his hands into fists and pushed harder into the floor as he could practically hear the confident smirk through the scroll.

 _"Oh, Sun. Didn't Blake ever tell you that I don't like being told what to do?_ _ **I'm**_ _in control, here, and I'll take my sweet time as you sit there, livid, trying to be the better man. It must be hard, trying not to curse me out again. You know if you do, someone's going to come running, and I'll just… disappear, along with my offer,"_ Adam taunted.

"I wish you _would_ just disappear," Sun grumbled. "What offer? What stupid game are you playing?"

 _"No games_ ," Adam said as another scraping sound echoed through the scroll. " _Just… an idea. I want you and the Belladonnas gone from Kuo Kuana, as soon as possible. I'm getting bored, running these one-on-one interrogations and reassurances with the populace here. I honestly don't know how Cinnamon does it."_

"Probably by not being a pretentious, self-righteous, holier-than-thou dictator who actually cares about her people," Sun fired back.

 _"The way you speak, it almost sounds like you know her,"_ Adam mused. Sun looked to Blake, who shook her head furiously.

"…no. But it wouldn't surprise me, based on what little I've seen. Why don't you just hand control of the Fang over to her, and realize that all you're doing is pushing people away? They only rallied behind your cause once you finally shut up and she stepped in."

A long stretch of silence filled the room as Kali smirked. Upon his return to the conversation, Adam's voice carried a bit more of an edge.

 _"I'll handle things the way I_ _ **want**_ _to handle them, little boy, and right now, I'm handling_ _ **you**_ _. Come to the docks, tonight."_

"Why?" Sun asked with a confident tone. "I'm pretty comfortable right here, with all of my _friends_. Especially my _girlfriend_. I don't know if you've met."

 _"I've met more of her than you ever will, and I found her disappointing in almost every way,"_ Adam replied coolly. Ghira's glare intensified as he listened, and Blake looked away as her shoulders tensed. _"She's a…_ _ **decent**_ _lay, if you can get over how much of a cold fish she can be. At the start, anyway."_

Sun spoke with a hiss as he jumped back into the conversation to prevent any further details. "Yeah, that's great, thanks for sharing. Why would I come to the docks to meet you? What happens if I don't?"

 _"If you don't, it's going to be bad for everyone involved… and many who aren't. The people of this rotting little village are complicit in their support of the Belladonnas, and if you won't play ball… then I'm not going to waste more time here, trying to convert the few left that will listen. I'll mark them as enemies, the same as your… 'family',"_ Adam said, making sure to put a sarcastic emphasis on the last word. _"Does it make you feel wanted, being with Blake? Have you started calling Ghira 'Daddy', yet?"_

Kali's expression turned into a sneer as she raised a middle finger and began circling it in the direction of the scroll. Sun took several breaths to try to calm himself, before replying.

"You know _nothing_ about me. I don't care what Il…" Sun paused for a second as he caught himself, praying that Adam hadn't noticed. "…l-minded thoughts you have about how I feel. I'll be there, alright? You want to talk? We'll talk."

 _"Come alone,"_ Adam instructed. _"Unarmed."_

Sun snorted in disbelief as he shook his head. "Yeah, I'll come about as unarmed as _you_ did, to the plaza. That was _low_ , man. Even for you."

 _"And yet, had_ _ **my**_ _girlfriend not been there, we wouldn't be having this conversation, now would we? You need to get smarter, Sun. If you defy me, it's going to cause a whole lot of pain for those you care about. Alone. Unarmed. I'll know, if you break either of those rules."_

"I mean, yeah, I'd have a weapon and someone with me. No shit, you'd know," Sun seethed.

 _"There it is. Getting frustrated?"_

"Getting _ready_ ," Sun replied. "Whatever you've got planned for tonight, it's going to go down in flames."

 _"Oh, you have no idea. Say hello to Blake, for me. Tell her that I'm coming very soon, to give her another scar,"_ Adam threatened. Another click rang out, and then the scroll fell silent as the time of the call flashed on the screen and the device went dark.

Sun looked over to Blake, who had her eyes clenched shut as Kali kept her in an embrace. Kali's ears flattened and the rings within them jingled as she nearly hissed.

"You're _not_ going alone."

" _Or_ unarmed," Ghira added as he walked back into the main room, looking furious.

"I know," Sun agreed. "But I _am_ going, so we need to figure out how this is happening, and how to make it safe. Or… as safe as it can be."

"I'm going with you."

Everyone else in the room turned to look at Blake in surprise. "Honey…" Kali began, only for Blake to wriggle her way out of the hug and stand, her chest heaving.

" _No_ , Mom. I'm going. I'll follow from the rooftops, and keep an eye on you, Sun. If he starts something, I _will_ be there to finish it, at your side. I'm not running again," Blake resolved as she balled her fists.

"We should _all_ go," Kali suggested, only for Ghira to shake his head in disagreement.

"We can't. This could easily be a trap. If Adam really is going to wait at the docks for Sun, he's likely _expecting_ all of us to be there. That leaves our home vulnerable. If Blake is going to follow Sun, then you and I should stay here, ready and waiting for some sort of duplicity."

"Gotta say, I'm with Ghira on this one," Sun affirmed as he pocketed the dormant scroll and stood. "Yeah, it sucks, but… there are a lot of Fang on this island, and those against them aren't likely to come running and defend either set of us tonight, if and when we get into trouble. Blake and I have got it covered. I trust her with my life."

"And I trust you with mine. I'll stick close, and sneak my way up to you two as soon as things get ugly," Blake said as she wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her dress shirt. "Like you said… we've got this. I _believe_ in us."

Sun smiled as he closed the distance between them and pulled Blake into a tight hug.

"Yeah. Yeah, we do. No matter what he's planning, I think we're going to make some kind of significant progress tonight. It'd be nice if we could somehow give Ilia a heads up, and maybe find a way to have her help us out… but she said not to call her," Sun considered as he ran his hands along Blake's back.

Ghira snorted. "Of course she did. I still don't trust that she has our best interests at heart."

" _Ghira_ ," Kali admonished as she moved to stand beside him. "She's in a rough spot right now. Yes, it's because of her own doing, but… there's little we can do for her, until she steps out to openly support us."

"Well, she'd better do it soon," Ghira said.

"Yeah… really soon. Like, _tonight_ soon, if we end up fighting Adam," Sun agreed. "At least we'll get to have a really cinematic duel on the beach, if everything goes wrong."

Blake punched Sun lightly in the chest as she frowned. "It isn't going to go wrong. It _can't_ go wrong, or else I really am going to snap. I'll follow your lead. So far, it's always worked out, hasn't it?"

Sun nodded in agreement as he gave Blake a gentle kiss upon the ear. "Yeah. Just go with it."

* * *

The cool breeze coming in from the ocean brought goosebumps to Sun's arms as he slowly walked toward the docks in silence. He closed his eyes briefly as he sucked in some of the refreshingly cold air and shook his hands out in an effort to steady his frayed nerves.

"Come on, man, you've got this," he said to himself as the docks came into sight. The wooden structures stood as oddly-shaped black lattices under the subtle moonlight, and Sun found that the orderly rows of support beams almost resembled headstones from a distance. He cracked his neck and licked his lips to try to banish the thought, before casting a quick glance off to his left side for reassurance.

A small black silhouette darted along the roof of a nearby building before crouching behind the raised edge of the square platform. Sun smirked, and continued onward as he slipped a hand into his pocket. He pressed the screen of his scroll and began to whisper, hoping that the flesh-colored earpiece would pick up his words.

"Blake, you doin' alright up there?"

 _"Just fine,"_ came the nervous reply. _"I'm running out of rooftops, though. I'll try to come on down once you reach the docks, and circle my way beneath the pier. Keep him distracted."_

"You know me. I'm good at being distracting," Sun joked as he walked out onto the beach.

 _"Your ass does look great in those jeans, from up here,"_ Blake replied as she leaped along to the next rooftop. Sun took note of the sudden flirtatious tone in her voice, and shook his head.

"…you don't have to do that, you know. We're gonna be fine. Just… have faith?"

 _"I do… but you can't blame me for being on edge. Going silent. Good luck. I love you."_

"You know I love you, too," Sun replied as he made his way up to the ramp leading to the raised wood. As he stepped onto the boards, a dark shape leaning against a raised wooden pole jutting up from the pier caught his attention. The closer he got to the figure, the more it seemed that something was wrong, until they turned to face him fully with a smile.

"… _Ilia?"_

"Hey, big bro," Ilia replied with a toothy grin. She walked forward and jumped to grab him around the neck in a tight hug. Sun let out an anxiety-filled sigh of relief as he caught her, and looked her over with confusion.

"Hey, little sis. But… what are you doing here? I got a threatening call from Adam, telling me to meet him at the docks, tonight. He sent you instead?"

Ilia dropped back to the wooden planks as she crossed her arms. "Yeah, he did. He told me to come here and 'deal with you' while he 'tends to other things.' Little does he know that it's just going to result in giving you more details, while we hatch a plan. I think we may have an opportunity to strike him where it hurts most."

"Really?" Sun asked as he raised a brow. "Hold up a sec. Blake's here, too, and she should hear this."

Sun reached into his pocket once again, and pressed upon his scroll. "Hey, Blake? It's just Ilia. Adam was too much of a tool to face me, so he sent her to slap me around a bit, instead. What a dumbass."

 _"…_ _ **wow**_ _. I'll be right there."_

Ilia rolled her eyes as Sun took out his scroll and ended the call, before removing his hidden earpiece.

"So. How've you been?" she asked, before her face fell into a worried frown. "Actually… how's Blake, before she gets here? Is she holding up okay?"

Sun raised a hand and rocked it back and forth in a 'somewhat' motion. "About as well as can be expected, honestly. I will give her credit, though, she's hangin' in there."

"Probably thanks to you," Ilia teased as she shifted her weight to one hip. "As much as it sucks that she's taken… I really do owe you, for keeping her together. I honestly don't know if I would've been able to pull it off."

"Hey, you're gonna make some girl really happy, someday," Sun reassured as he patted Ilia on the shoulder. "Trust me."

"I hope so," Ilia replied as footsteps echoed on the pier. Sun smirked as Blake joined his side and wrapped an arm around his waist, before nodding to Ilia.

"…Ilia. So, this was a colossal waste of time and runaround, on Adam's part."

"Looks that way," Ilia nodded. "I did learn some stuff that might help us out, though, so it ended up being convenient. Turns out, he's… not…"

Ilia trailed off as she looked over Sun's shoulder, and her eyes widened. Quite suddenly, she clasped a hand over her mouth while she pointed, her hand shaking wildly as she looked on in horror. Sun's face fell as he watched Ilia's expression change, and he turned to find a sight that made his blood freeze in shock.

In the distance, a thick, black column of smoke was rising from the Belladonna mansion.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Of all of the character development that Blake has received in this story, the piece that I'm most proud of is how _she didn't light her own goddamned house on fire to see an opponent in a dark room a little bit better, despite having natural night vision._

I mean… seriously? _Seriously_.

Next update is on Tuesday.

 **-RD**


	40. What You Stole

Sun's chest heaved as he sprinted through the streets of Kuo Kuana at full speed. He took greedy breaths and kept his hands bladed as he ran, dodging and weaving around signs, small fences, and the occasional stunned villager. Over time, Blake caught up to his side and tossed his weapon over to him in mid-stride. Sun caught the small red rods and transformed them into a staff while running, before twirling the implement to rest against his back as he made his way into the marketplace.

"Sun! What are we going to do!?" Blake asked with a strained voice. Sun spared her a look as they both kept pace, and found that her eyes were already starting to well up.

"Just… just get there, first! We need to catch our breath, and… we'll form a plan! Where's Ilia?"

Blake stole a glance over her shoulder as she leaped cleanly over a market stall in her path.

"Behind us! She's coming!"

Sun began to slow his pace as the duo reached the path leading up to the manor, and eventually walked to a stop. The building before them glowed a bright, sickening orange from within the windows, and a back section of the house was wreathed in smoke. Gunfire echoed from within the home, and Sun took several breaths to steady himself as Blake paced back and forth, scroll in hand.

"Mom? _Mom!?_ " she nearly screamed, as the call connected. "Where are you? What's going on?

Blake paused to listen intently, before hanging up the call and stuffing her scroll back into her pants. Ilia finally reached the two speedier faunus, and doubled over to hold her knees while panting as she looked up at the building.

"Oh… oh _shit!_ It has to be Adam! We need to get in there!"

Blake gripped Gambol Shroud and drew the halves of the weapon into both hands as she shivered.

"Mom's in the downstairs study, but she doesn't know where Dad is. I'm going to her. Sun, you find Dad, and we both prioritize getting them out of here safely."

Ilia took one last breath and nodded, before drawing her weapon. "I'll go with him."

Sun's mind raced as he watched the flames begin to creep up a distant wall. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he turned to face Ilia. "No. Go upstairs, and start checking rooms. Stay stealthy, and see if you can locate Adam. Call us, as soon as you do. Your cover isn't blown just yet, and you can get the drop on him while we distract him. One clean shock mid-fight, and he's down. Are you willing to risk it?"

Ilia's eyes widened as she looked back and forth between Sun and the burning manor, before she nodded with determination and lowered her mask to cover her face. "I'll start on the side by Blake's room."

"And I'll break a window on the way to the study, on the back hall of the first floor," Blake said.

"Then the main entrance is mine," Sun concluded. "Either of you need help, you call, immediately. Stay smart. Stay safe… and let's all make it out of this alive."

The two girls nodded their approval and took off; Ilia extended her whip and used it to attach to a balcony and zip upward, while Blake darted off to the right and rounded the side of the house before disappearing out of sight. Sun paused momentarily to watch her go, before beginning a purposeful stride for the front door of the mansion. He kicked it open and flourished his staff into a two-handed ready stance while looking around the entrance hall.

Several decorative vases were smashed, dirty footprints led in all directions, and a painting had been torn off the wall and laid face down upon the carpet. Sun heard a round of gunshots go off to his left, and immediately broke into a run through the halls in pursuit.

* * *

Blake kept low to the ground as she hugged the wall of the building and hurried along toward the far end. As she neared the window to the hallway adjacent to the study, she paused and strained her ears against the wall to listen in. Two muffled voices echoed from inside, though she couldn't make out the words from either party. The sets of footsteps rang out incredibly close to each other, and so, Blake rose and leaped into the window shoulder first.

The glass shattered as she tucked her head and converted into a roll, before aiming Gambol Shroud ahead of herself and doing a quick check of her surroundings. Two White Fang members stood before her at the opposite end of the hall, and she opened fire immediately. Each of the men dove to opposite sides of the T-junction, and Blake ran forward as she readied her bladed sheath.

 _"Get out of my home!"_

Blake hurled a clone of herself forward into the perpendicular hallway, and the double was assaulted by a hail of bullets from either side. While the grunts were distracted, Blake slid along the floor and faced to the left before emptying the remainder of her clip into the man before her. The White Fang grunt stumbled backward and fell to the ground as the other aimed his rifle down at Blake, only for her to kick off the wall and seemingly disappear into thin air.

"W-what the hell!?" he exclaimed, only for Blake to appear behind him and snatch the rifle from over his shoulder. She aimed down and emptied the remaining rounds into the man's legs and watched his aura drain just before the last bullet, which dug into the back of his calf while he let out an agonizing scream. Blake kicked him over as the man's partner rose and reached down for his gun, only to find the bladed pistol portion of Gambol Shroud flying through the air to latch onto the firearm and drag it toward Blake. In one smooth motion, she knelt and used her bladed sheath to split the firearm in half, before pointing down to the sobbing grunt beneath her.

" _You_. Get him out of here, and to the hospital. Be happy you're leaving alive," she spat, before whirling and heading back the direction she came. Blake didn't bother to watch the pair go as she unloaded the other rifle and pocketed the clip before tossing the emptied metal husk to the floor. She pressed her back against the wall next to the door to the study, and once again listened in. Almost immediately, an explosion rang out from within the room, and Blake found herself unbalanced by the shaking wall.

 _"Is that all you've got!?"_ Kali's muffled voice cried through the wall, her statement chased by a crescendo of bullets from an automatic weapon. Blake smirked despite herself and barged in through the door, only to find her mother standing behind a knocked over table and firing down upon an overwhelmed grunt taking cover behind a bookcase. Blake fired a warning shot into the shelves and the man jumped, only to turn and face her.

" _Leave!"_ Blake snarled as she strafed into the room while keeping her gun trained on the masked male. He eyed the door and bolted, only for Kali to rise from behind her table.

"…Blake, what are you _doing!?"_ she asked incredulously. "They wouldn't do the same for you. This is an invasion on our home! You shoot to kill!"

Blake lowered her gun and took a deep breath, before shaking her head and surveying the damage to the study. Countless books and pages lay strewn across the floor, as did smears of blood. A member of the White Fang lay motionless against a cracked column, and Blake averted her eyes as her stomach grew cold.

"…we're better than them. I'll kill only if I need to… or if it's Adam. Sun's trying to find Dad, and we need to meet up with him."

"You'll need to, before the night is over," Kali said darkly as she joined her daughter's side. "Let me take point. Cover our flank, and let's work our way toward the dining hall."

Blake nodded her agreement and fell in behind her mother while reloading Gambol Shroud. Kali kept her pistols leveled as she extended two ethereal azure arms from her shoulders and began a slow walk down the hall. As if on cue, another member of the White Fang appeared at the junction of the hallway, wearing a red hood and confident smirk.

"…so, the prodigal daughter has returned," Fennec said coolly. "Unfortunate that your resistance ends here."

"Move, or _be_ moved," Kali threatened as she leveled her lugers at Fennec's forehead. The male laughed, and raised an ornate sai with red, glowing carvings spiraling up the central point.

"You may have been White Fang _before_ , but it's been a long time, Kali. I think you've lost your edge. To be honest, I don't think you can even _kill_ anym-"

Fennec's words were interrupted by a spray of bullets from above Kali as Blake dove forward and over her mother. She spun in midair and flung her firearm forward as a whirling sickle, aimed directly for the spot at which Fennec stood as he focused on deflecting the barrage. Without a word, he aimed his weapon for Blake and unleashed a wide blast of flames to obscure himself, and disappeared down the hall at a sprint as they dissipated.

"That's more like it!" Kali encouraged as she ran to her daughter's side while the younger faunus landed and broke into a run. The pair rounded the corner together, and Blake reloaded her weapon as they continued forward.

"He's headed straight forward! We're not letting him get away!" Blake shouted as she ran past the door to the sauna.

"Damn right we're not," Kali agreed. "He crossed the wrong family."

* * *

Sweat poured down Sun's face and drenched his dress shirt as he stepped quickly through the halls, one hand clutching his staff and the other shielding his face. Patches of walls were slowly beginning to catch fire, and Sun tread carefully to avoid getting caught without an escape as he searched. His heart pounded in his chest as yet another storm of gunfire rang out in the room before him, and he took a steadying breath before sprinting into the fray.

Two house attendants were engaged in a firefight with two members of the White Fang in the small room where he had eaten breakfast with the Belladonnas every morning since his arrival. All four of the individuals had taken cover behind the columns at the edges of the room, and one of the masked grunts noticed Sun a moment too late as he dashed forward and leapt upward.

"He's here! Hey, that one g-"

The alert was cut off by a flying kick to the face as Sun hurtled through the air. On the way to the ground, he converted the motion into a downward slam with his knees to the center of the grunt's chest and simultaneously whipped his nunchaku across the man's face as hard as he could. The grunt's head snapped to one side as he fell silent, and his partner raised their weapon. Sun bared his teeth and held up his paired weapons to function as shotguns, before beginning to fire wildly as he advanced on the other column.

"What did you do with Ghira!? Where is he!?" he demanded as he advanced, peppering the masked man with bullets. The White Fang lackey shifted himself around the column to try to avoid the deadly barrage, only to come face to face with the house attendants, both training their weapons on his head.

"I… I don't know! He and Adam have been fighting since we got here! Don't hurt me!"

Sun's hand shook as he aimed his weapons at the man's forehead, before striking him across the face with the side of the barrel. Much like his comrade, the man went down, and Sun stood over the unconscious pair as his mind raced.

"…sir? Mr. Wukong?" one of the attendants tried. Sun looked at them with a detached, vacant expression, as though the words hadn't quite registered. He remained silent for a while, and then licked his lips before speaking in a dangerous, tense tone.

"Tell me anything you know. Anything that could be helpful. Give me a direction, or anything you've seen!" he pleaded.

"Well… some of the other workers here got involved in a fight upstairs, but I think Mr. Belladonna stayed on the first floor. I heard him yelling not too long ago, from there," the other attendant offered as he pointed down a nearby hall.

The passage was a long, wide, trophy and statue lined hall that connected the small room to the dining room after a turn. A bust lay knocked over and shattered upon the floor, and a scour mark from some sort of bladed weapon was carved deep into the wooden wall. Sun's stomach grew cold at the sight, and he looked back to the two men with a firm nod.

"Alright. You two, get these clowns out of here, and get yourselves to safety. I'm going after Ghira."

"But… _alone?_ And what about the people upstairs?" the first attendant inquired as he nervously shifted his rifle in his grip.

Sun took another breath before answering. "I'll be fine. As for the other people… it's too dangerous. Don't go back in and try to help, because this place is going up _fast_. Go and get us help to put out the fire, and… once I find Ghira, I'll try to make my way upstairs to the others. I promise."

The two men exchanged nervous glances before taking a body each, and beginning to drag them across the room.

"…good luck. We'll see you outside."

"Yeah, you will," Sun reassured as he turned to face the hall. "All of us."

Without so much as a glance behind himself, Sun took off down the hall. He hopped over the shattered statue as he went, and picked up into a sprint as faint sounds of metal on metal began to ring out from somewhere on his left. He followed the junction toward the sound and made a turn, only to be met with an unwelcome sight.

The door leading to the dining room at the end of the hall was firmly shut, with three White Fang guards standing before it. Two carried swords, while the third had a rifle, and all three glared at Sun as he came into view. The fallen body of another house attendant that Sun recognized from random run-ins lay bloody upon the carpet, and a fourth member of the White Fang was crumpled and motionless against one of the walls. Sun hesitated for only a moment before he let out a spirited yell and leaped into the air toward the surprised trio while clasping his hands together as he fell into a slide on his knees.

Three golden clones sprang forth from Sun's body as his enemies drew their weapons. Of the two with blades, the first never got his out of the sheath as a shimmering faunus crashed into him with a shoulder tackle. The other tried to swing for the doppelganger's head, only for the body double to catch the blade in its hand and retaliate with a swift knee to the gut. Finally, the rifleman found his gun tilted upward by his assigned clone's hand as the projection gripped the barrel and caused the grunt to waste a round directly up into the ceiling.

Sun grit his teeth as he directed the first clone to deliver several punches to its victim's face to render the stranger unconscious, before he dispelled the double to conserve aura. The second man put up more of a fight and continued to grapple with the sparkling imposter, as the third continued to fire wildly into the ceiling. Several holes formed before the ceiling itself began to bow dangerously, and Sun ordered his semblance to tilt the gun downward. The resulting combination of the lower angle and the marksman's wild efforts to break free of Sun's grasp caused him to fire directly into his ally's back, and the masked faunus dropped to the floor in a messy heap as the second clone disappeared upon impact.

The remaining grunt's hands shook as he tried to aim the barrel of the gun toward Sun, only for the final remaining clone to hold the gun steady. The man's breathing quickened as he addressed his enemy, and glared at the teen.

"You… _you_ did this… _all_ of this, it was you, and that girl, and none of this would've happened if you hadn't come h-"

" _Shut up!"_ Sun roared as he unclasped his hands and shot up from his kneeling position. The doppelganger disappeared as he ran forward at full tilt and knocked the gun aside using his staff. The firearm went off one more time and put another set of holes into the floor as Sun slammed its owner up against the nearby wall. He gripped the man's forehead and thrust his head again into the wood, before repeating the motion and watching him begin to lose balance. More clashing of steel sounded from behind the doors, and Sun threw the struggling man off to the side as he ran for the entrance.

Upon reaching the wood, Sun kicked the doors open with full force. The entire wall on the left side of the dining room was ablaze, and smaller fires glowed from the second floor railings. Sun winced as he felt the raised temperature and put a hand up to shield his eyes as he tried to adjust to the sight before him. Two men, one far larger than the other stood in the middle of the dining hall, partially obscured by a long table that had been knocked over.

" _Ghira!"_ Sun yelled as he ran forward. As he rounded the fallen and cracked wood, all color drained from his face and his mouth fell open in disbelief.

Adam Taurus stood in the center of the room, a nasty bruise forming on the side of his face and several tears present across his usually immaculate black jacket. He grit his teeth in sheer rage as his chest heaved with effort and he glared straight across at his opponent. In his hand was Wilt, buried deep into Ghira's chest as the larger male struggled to remain standing with one hand clasped desperately around the blade.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Next update on Friday.

 **-RD**


	41. Unhinged

The crackling background noise of the flames eating away at the wooden railing and slowly climbing the columns supporting the upper floor was the only thing that Sun's mind could process as he remained in place, silent and horrified. A small, sickening gurgle came from Ghira as a rivulet of blood began to trail down the edge of his jaw. His knees shook just enough for Sun to notice as the man's eyes became glassy and unfocused. Without warning, Adam drove the blade in deeper, and let the hilt press against Ghira's chest as the tip erupted from the uncovered flesh of his back, coated in a fresh layer of blood.

" _Ghira!_ " Sun screamed. He tried to move himself forward to stop the killing, but found his feet unwilling to part from the floor. His entire body seized as he watched Adam rip the weapon from Ghira's chest, leading the larger man to fall backward in a heap. As he reached the floor, Ghira's body went limp and no motion came from his chest, or the fingers on his outstretched hand. The final noise of his armored limb crashing to the floor rang out in the dining hall, and Adam smirked as he stared down at his fallen opponent.

Weak, unfamiliar noises escaped Sun's throat as he watched the man he thought of as his father die. Hot tears rushed down his cheeks as he grit his teeth and tightened his grip around his staff. The tip of the weapon trembled visibly in the air, and he resolved to return the favor with Adam's own life. Sun managed one step forward, before Adam's sword arm snapped to the side and thrust Wilt toward Sun's face. The bloody tip of the weapon rested mere feet from his eyes, and Sun glared up and along the steel to find Adam's remaining eye fixed upon him.

"…did I not tell you to meet me at the docks _alone,_ little boy?" Adam chided in a sickeningly smooth tone. Sun's weapon continued to shake unsteadily as he kept it in a death grip, while the tip of Adam's sword remained perfectly still at its deadly angle. "This is the price you pay for your disobedience. Had you left Blake behind, I'd have merely taken her with me to watch as the White Fang moves into the endgame. I will admit, I _almost_ respected you, in an odd way, for standing your ground against me. Now, though… now, your 'father' lies dead, and you'll soon join him. This could have been so _easy_."

Something primal surged through Sun's brain as he again took a step forward and brandished his staff, only to stop himself once again as he fixed Adam with a death glare. He let out a frustrated yell as he slashed his staff against the floor, resulting in a loud bang.

"You… you just made the biggest mistake of your _life,_ Adam," Sun began as he struggled to keep his voice steady. "You'll suffer for this. You'll wish you had never even tried to set foot in Kuo Kuana, and after I'm done with your body, they won't even be able to _identify_ you," Sun threatened. His breathing quickened as he began to circle his opponent, and Adam tracked him with the tip of Wilt.

Adam's smirk grew into a satisfied smile as he turned himself to keep his eye on Sun. "Good, good. That's what I like to hear. Keep acting like an _animal_. You're not worthy of joining the faunus who see the world for what it really is. If you're going to mangle me so badly, then let's get started. Come on. Hit me," he encouraged.

Among all of Ghira's words and witticisms, one particular piece of advice continued to replay itself in Sun's mind. " _No_."

"No?" Adam asked, with even more amusement in his voice. "Why hold back? Are you waiting for me to kill Blake, too? I'll admit, in your situation, I would, too. She's just such a downer."

Sun cracked his staff into two halves with a quick motion, and fired off a shot aimed just before Adam's feet with one of his nunchaku. Adam instinctively twirled his sword and shifted his body sideways to minimize himself as a target, before watching the shot miss entirely. He quirked a brow in confusion, before he gave Sun a nod of understanding.

"…I see. You know about my semblance, don't know?"

" _When_ I hit you," Sun began, "there will be no blocking. There isn't going to be a final, fatal slash today. I know your semblance. You _don't_ know mine."

Adam paused to consider Sun's words, before finally drawing Wilt back into its sheath with a chuckle. "Clever. Very, _very_ clever. That being said, I still have the upper hand. Kali won't last much longer against Fennec and the backup I provided him. This house is _crawling_ with Fang loyalists, and I'm sure Blake is tied up elsewhere in the halls… or maybe avoiding the situation, as she usually does, and hauling Ilia off to the authorities. I'd imagine the pair of you either made short work of her and tied her down with some pretty little ropes, or she managed to escape? No matter what, should you draw this out enough, she'll be here to worsen your odds even _more_."

Sun was struck with inspiration, and narrowed his eyes as he kept them locked on Adam. He let his adrenaline and sadness pour out into his voice as he spoke in the harshest, most unforgiving tone he could muster.

"…you think we let her _escape_ , after how close she was to Blake, once? With how high-strung and tense you've made her, and with seeing her home up in flames in the distance? Ilia didn't escape, and we didn't capture her. Ilia's _dead_ ," Sun lied. "I had to pull Blake off her body before we were seen, and by the time I managed it, her entire torso was carved open. You're down one ally… and Blake is on her way to Fennec. I don't imagine _he'll_ last long against her and Kali… especially with Blake in the state she's in. Ilia was the one thing that pushed her over the edge and into insanity… and _you're_ mine."

Adam narrowed his eyes as Sun rushed forward and fired off two simultaneous shots while dipping into a spin and ending up on one knee. The swordsman reacted by blocking the bullet careening for his chest, while the second crashed into his left thigh and caused a pulse of red aura to creep up the limb. Adam looked down in disbelief as he realized the impending problem, and grit his teeth as Sun fired off another two rounds, for Adam's ankles. Again, one shot was blocked, while the other found its target and damaged his aura.

"Oh, you little _bastard_ ," Adam snarled as he went on the offensive. Wilt pulsed softly with the absorbed energy as he threw out a slash for Sun's throat, only for the younger faunus' whirling nunchaku to deflect the blade. Sun lashed out with a strike to Adam's face that ended up blocked once again, while using his other hand to fire a round into Adam's stomach. Adam let out an enraged growl as he leapt into the air and discharged what stored energy he had managed to build up in a wide, downward crescent beam. Sun flipped backward out of the way just in time to watch the wooden floor splinter upward from the impact.

"Simultaneous potshots aren't going to save you, boy!" Adam yelled as he sheathed his sword and spun the casing upward into both hands. He leveled the tool at Sun's chest and fired off a blast from the shotgun hidden within, only for Sun to duck and fire off two more shots in tandem in return. Adam weaved between the two while Sun smirked through his tears.

"Seems to be working pretty okay so far. Getting pissed? Then _bring it!_ " he shouted in return, before running up to meet Adam. The pair clashed again as Adam drew Wilt and Sun crossed his nunchaku to catch the blade. Sun's arms tensed as he held off the descending blade, and he let out a sputtering groan as Adam kneed him hard in the stomach. Sun stepped backward several times and barely managed to avoid Wilt as Adam brought it down in a vicious slash, before rushing in with another. Sun did his best to catch the blow, but ended up recovering too slowly and taking a wide slash across the stomach. His aura flared at the hit, and he threw his guard back up just in time to redirect another strike to his side.

"You're holding back!" Adam accused as he launched into a quick flurry of blows. Sun danced and deflected as he whirled his nunchaku, doing his best just to stay alive and regain his momentum. " _Why!?_ You'll get nowhere without striking me! Where's your precious _semblance_ to save you?"

Sun whipped a nunchaku out to interrupt Adam's furious assault, only for the bull to successfully guard the flailing weapon. The blade of the sword pulsed a faint pink, and Sun cringed at the failure of the risky move. A sudden motion on the upper floor caught his attention in his peripheral vision, and Sun allowed himself to glance upward in hopes of finding an ally. Ilia was moving quickly and quietly along the upper balcony to get into position, and Sun flicked his eyes back to Adam's face as he caught another strike.

"I don't need my semblance for you. All I need is for you to keep making mistakes."

Adam retaliated by raising his shotgun once again and firing off two blasts back to back. Sun rolled along the ground to avoid the attacks, before diving over Ghira's body and reaching downward in midair. Adam followed by leaping along with Sun into a downward strike, only to recoil and stumble backward as his blade bounced off a surface of hardened steel.

Sun crouched down on one knee, tearfully glaring at Adam as he held his arm upward in a curled, defensive stance. Ghira's gauntlet wrapped around the entire circumference of his biceps and forearm, and the steel shimmered a bright orange glow in the growing firelight. Adam let out another frustrated yell as he dropped into a ready stance, with Ghira's body on the floor behind him.

"You think you can learn how to use that quickly enough for it to save you more than once? You're going to die here, Sun!"

"Not if she has anything to say about it."

Sun made a point to flick his gaze to his left. Adam followed the movement with his own eye, only to see nothing. Ilia dived from the other side on the upper floor swiftly and silently as she brandished her weapon and drew it down in a sideways slash. The electrified whip sizzled across Adam's neck and back, eliciting a scream from him as he fell forward to one knee. Sun took the opportunity to throw a haymaker forward with Ghira's gauntlet and caught Adam clean in the face, causing him to tumble backward in a heap as he let out a string of obscenities.

Ilia landed gracefully and looked at Adam with an expression of rage and grief while he covered his mouth with his free hand. He began to speak in a slur as smoke began to rise from his upper back and blood dripped from his gloved palm.

" _You!?_ You _dare_ to betray the White Fang!?"

"I'm just following your example!" Ilia shot back as she raised her contracted whip like a rapier and aimed it for Adam's head. Sun joined her side and rejoined his weapon into a long staff as he put his armored limb before himself to act as a shield. "You decided to forsake us and turn the Fang into your own little fanclub! Sienna was a good person, a great leader, and a hero to our people! I know what you did… and I also know that Ghira was even _better_ ," Ilia sniffled. She, too, was unsuccessfully trying to fight back tears.

Sun took a moment to rest his armored hand upon Ilia's shoulder, and gave her a reassuring nod. "It's okay. We've got this. This ends ton-"

The sentence was never finished as a massive gust of wind impacted the pair of faunus from the side. Ilia was blown clean off her feet as Sun leaned into his stance and wrapped his arms around her to keep her standing while another gust buffeted against them. Fennec Albain dashed to Adam's aid and stood between him and the pair of fighters as the door from which he came swung wildly back and forth upon its hinges.

"Brother Taurus! The Belladonna women are coming! My men can only hold them for so long! We need to kill these two, a-"

" _No_ ," Adam mumbled as he slowly rose, hand still clasped tightly on his jaw. "Call your men back… and hold them off. I need to join Cinnamon. Killing Ghira was enough."

"Sir? But…?" Fennec began to question as he looked over his shoulder, only for gunfire to echo from beyond the swinging doors.

"Do as I say!" Adam commanded as he turned to run for the nearby hallway. He made it barely three steps before an explosion of force rocked the nearby column and sent part of the upper balcony tumbling downward in a massive crash of burning rubble. Adam stopped just short of being crushed, and turned to face his new attacker as a familiar voice let out a feminine scream.

" _Dad!?_ " Blake cried out from the doorway while standing next to her mother. Kali gasped in shock as she followed Blake's gaze, and the younger girl clasped both of her hands over her mouth. Kali's face twisted into a mask of rage as she began to run forward, her ethereal arms blazing with energy trails as she raised her incense burner.

"You _bastards!_ "

Adam made no attempt to reply as he ducked behind the remains of the half-shattered column to avoid another explosion of force and spray of gunfire from Kali's pistols. Sun ran to meet Blake in the center of the room as Ilia dashed forward to clash weapons with Fennec, and Kali sprinted after Adam while scattering more explosion points around the base of the wall.

"He trusted you! He gave you _everything!_ " Kali screamed as she continued her chase and raised the screaming severed head to blow holes into the wall. Adam continued to rush behind columns, narrowly avoiding the assault.

"Blake!" Sun yelled as he threw his arms around her, mere feet from Ghira's body. Blake buried her face into his chest as she began to sob horribly.

"Is… i-is he…?"

"Blake, I'm sorry, but we… we don't have time! We need to stop them, before they can.."

The entire room shook as another massive section of the balcony collapsed to the floor, barely missing Adam as he disappeared through a door and into another room. Kali let out an enraged scream as she watched him escape, and whirled upon the teens. Sun turned to look at her with a weary frown as Ilia continued to hold off Fennec's attempts to stab her with his sai.

"We need to get out of here!" Sun shouted. "This place is coming down, and there are still people on our side upstairs! I… I'll get Ghira out of here, but you three n-"

Another sound of sheering metal drowned out Sun as he tried to yell above the noise of the flames. Ilia furrowed her brow and stepped back as she watched a glittering corona of distorted air appear around the sides of Fennec's head, only for the entire ring to suddenly rush inward with a quick, deadly implosion. The squeezing impact crushed the man's skull and caused his head to cave in with a sickening _crack_ as a shower of gore seeped through the fractures in his flesh and began to crawl down his shoulders as he collapsed to the floor, dead.

Ilia shrieked as she backpedaled away from the dying man, only to drop her weapon and fall onto her backside while she covered her eyes with her hands. Sun and Blake both looked away as Kali approached them, her aura and semblance fizzling out as she spoke in a shaky, furious voice.

"…this is _war_ , now. He took my husband, and your father. I mean that to _all_ of you," she added as she put her arms around Sun and Blake. "We need to get out of here immediately, and bring Ghira with us. Sun, help me lift. Blake and Ilia, scout us a path. Please."

Sun nodded as Kali let go of the pair, and kneeled down to loop his arms beneath Ghira's shoulders. Kali took hold of his legs and together they lifted, only for Blake to join them by putting her hands upon his lower back.

"…I can't. I can't let you two do this without me. Ilia, _please…_ "

Ilia slowly uncovered her eyes and snatched up her weapon. She looked over at Fennec's corpse as she began to breathe harder and harder. All at once, panic set in, and she scurried over to the body and began to rifle through his pockets. Sun started to say something, only to stop as she withdrew the man's scroll from within his robes while lifting his sai in the other hand.

"…H-h-h-haven. He'll h-have information," Ilia stammered as her hand reflected the trembling of her voice. "I-I'll lead us out. I'm sorry. I-I'm so, so sorry…"

Sun shook his head as Ilia moved to take the point position. "No. This isn't your fault, Ilia. Let's just go."

Without another word, Ilia began to dash down the hall as the Belladonna family followed behind, carrying their fallen leader.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

This chapter barely made it out on time due to how long it took to get the sequence of events right and put everything I wanted to happen into it in a way that makes sense. I hope it lives up to expectations.

While Ghira's death will certainly have a major impact, the fluff aspect of this fic will continue once it's appropriate, and sooner than later. The general pace in terms of plot progression and story events from here, however, is going to ramp _way_ the hell up.

Next update on Monday.

 **-RD**


	42. Nothing Left to Give

Sun rubbed at his temples as he surveyed the wreckage all around him. Countless faunus ran all about in the surrounding area, surveying the charred walls of the manor behind him. Some whispered, others screamed, and still more had joined the efforts to douse the flames. The fire had long since died, helped along by yet another bout of rainfall, but nearly half of the manor had collapsed in upon itself. Sun looked over the remains of what had become his home in utter disbelief, and shook his head silently as the rain continued to trickle gently upon his hair and skin.

Though Sun wasn't sure when he had stopped crying, the feeling of the rain slowly crawling down his cheeks and neck felt much the same. He brought the back of his hand up to wipe his face, before slowly slicking his hair back with rainwater. The thought of how he might look like Adam with such a style immediately ruined the moment, and he dragged his fingers through his hair again to mess it up and let it hang in disarray instead. Sun cursed softly under his breath as he let out a ragged sigh, and let the events of the night play out in his head again. No matter what he did to help salvage the situation, nothing could take the thought of Ghira's lifeless eyes from his mind.

Without knowing what else to do, Sun began to make his way around the perimeter of the house, toward the front entrance. Many faunus he'd never seen before, along with what house attendants remained, darted back and forth around the manor as they tried to determine what to do next. Sun offered a weak smile to those that noticed him, and received similar gestures as he continued to walk. While he would normally have volunteered to continue lending his aid inside, Sun was exhausted, and he knew in his heart that the battle was lost.

As he rounded a corner to the side of the ruined home, Sun was greeted by the sight of an arrangement of bodies upon a large blue tarp. Each was covered by a featureless white sheet, and given enough space around it for those surveying the fallen to maneuver between them. Sun shivered as he began to count, and then forced himself to tear his gaze away from the macabre display as the number broke 20. Merely by chance, he found himself looking at Ilia, sitting alone with her back up against the manor wall while hugging her knees and burying her face within them. Sun's heart sank even deeper to a depth that he didn't know he had as he approached, and sat down next to her in the soggy grass.

Sun opened his mouth, only to close it again as he noticed that her shoulders were still shaking. The entire time that he and the Belladonnas had been carrying Ghira's body out of the mansion, Ilia had been sobbing. Not far from the entrance, she had begun to hyperventilate, and had to stop leading the group as a panic attack set in. Kali had insisted that they leave to set Ghira outside of the home and come back for Ilia afterward, but by the time Sun returned, she had vanished. Without any idea of what to do, Sun laid a hand upon her shoulder, only for Ilia to let out a nerve-shredding scream.

"Hey! Hey, it's only me!" Sun reassured as Ilia scooted away from him, looking horrified. "Ilia, it's just me. It's Sun."

Ilia's breathing quickened once again, and her chest heaved as she gasped for air. Her eyes welled with tears as she looked him over, eyes darting back and forth, before she looked down and began to calm. Ilia sniffled and wiped her nose, before speaking in a low mumble. Sun moved closer to try to hear her as she spoke, and frowned as he got the message.

"…my fault," Ilia said in a near whisper. "All of it. My fault. I should've never stayed in the Fang. I shouldn't have been angry at Blake. I should have helped you guys sooner. Shouldn't have let Cinnamon leave."

"Ilia, no," Sun said gently as he moved over to sit beside her once again. He rested a soft hand upon her shoulder as she continued to mumble, her eyes locked on the ground. "It's nobody's fault, but Adam's. You couldn't have stopped Cinnamon, and… we all make mistakes. It's okay."

Ilia's head snapped to the side as she yelled. "It's _not_ okay! _Nothing_ is o-"

Sun leaned in and pulled Ilia into a bone-crushing hug, and she stopped speaking immediately. The smaller girl burst into a fresh cascade of tears and sobs as she pressed her face into Sun's chest, and he let out a sigh as he looped a hand around to her back to begin slow, circular rubs. Once again, Ilia began to hyperventilate, and Sun steadied his hands upon her shoulders as he forced her back to look at him.

"You're right. It's not okay, but one day, it _will_ be okay again, as long as we stick together. Blaming yourself isn't helping anyone, especially you. We _all_ feel the same way, but we have to keep it in, for now. We have to be strong. We have a fight to finish," Sun said as he pulled her back into another squeeze. Slowly, Ilia started to calm as she rested her head against his neck.

"Yeah. I know, you're right. It's just… it's all just too much, right now. Please stay with me? This is the second dad I've lost," Ilia replied.

"…first, for me. I never knew my real dad. Ghira was… nobody's going to be able to replace him," Sun lamented as he rested his head atop Ilia's and returned to stroking her back.

"…and nobody better try," Ilia added. "Are… are _you_ okay? You seem a lot more together than me," she added with a small laugh, followed by a sniffle.

"No. No, I'm… really not. I'm just keeping it in, for everyone else's sake. Don't be fooled, Ilia. I'm probably gonna have a breakdown worse than yours, soon, once I let it all set in," Sun admitted. "And… I don't know if I can be strong for Blake, right now. She must be a mess."

"Where _is_ she?" Ilia questioned.

"…don't know. Probably hiding somewhere. I really need to go find her, and… try my best to hold us both up," Sun said with a weary sigh.

"Hey, stop that," Ilia warned as she repositioned herself to look up at him. "You can't shoulder everything, and like you said, we've got a war to fight. We need to do this _together_ … so let me come with you."

Sun blinked in surprise at the offer. "What if Blake gets pissed at you? I doubt she's feeling particularly rational, right now."

"Then Blake gets pissed at me," Ilia repeated. "We need to help her. Be there for her. If she's the friend I know she is, she'll be there for us, too."

Sun merely nodded as he pulled Ilia up to stand with him, and dusted off the back of his shorts. "Yeah. You're right. When'd you get so smart and introspective?"

Ilia allowed herself a small, hollow laugh. "I guess… crisis brings out the best in people, sometimes. When they're not having a panic attack."

"Don't worry about that," Sun said with a wave of his hand. "We can work on it later. As a family."

"As a family," Ilia agreed as the pair began to walk slowly along the wall. "I… it's not just Ghira, you know."

"What else is bothering you?" Sun asked as he led the way.

Ilia shook her head, before pulling the glowing sai from her belt and beginning to look it over. "…F-fennec. Kali just… she popped his head like a _grape_ , Sun. I've never seen anything like that… and I hope I never do again. It didn't bother you?"

Sun paused to consider the question, and kept his eyes away from Ilia. "If… if I say 'no', does that make me a monster?"

Ilia sputtered as she tried to find an answer, and bit her bottom lip as her breathing quickened. "…no… I mean, _I_ don't think you're a monster, but… are you just used to seeing things like that? Or… why not?"

"…don't know. I just… felt _nothing_ ," Sun admitted. Something cold gripped his chest as he let the meaning of his words sink in. He found that he didn't like it, and shivered hard. "It was all just… drowned out by anger. He wasn't even a _person_ , to me. Not after what I saw, and with Adam right there… I didn't even care. I still don't."

"…oh," was all Ilia could manage, before a long silence fell between them as they walked. She kept her eyes on the back of his sweat-stained red shirt, and bit her bottom lip. After several minutes of walking, they turned a corner, and Sun came to a stop. Ilia stopped behind him, and put a hand up onto his shoulder as she leaned around to get a good look.

"Kali's making a speech," Sun informed as he shook his head. " _Already_ rallying the rest of Kuo Kuana. She's stronger than all of us."

"Even after losing her husband," Ilia added. "I wish I could be like her."

"Maybe someday," Sun offered. "We should be there. We should have _been_ there, helping her inspire. I just… right now…"

"I already told you, stop that," Ilia chided. "You're doing the best you can. We all are. And hey, you got me to stop freaking out, for now. Together, we can _both_ help her. That's something, right?"

"Right," Sun agreed in a deadpan. "I guess."

Ilia frowned, before looking back over to Kali. She squinted her eyes, only to tap Sun's shoulder and point to a nearby tree.

"Hey, is that… is that _Blake_ standing there, watching?"

For the first time in hours, Sun felt something other than anger or cold indifference as a tiny spark of warmth found a home in his heart. He followed Ilia's finger and saw a figure standing alone beneath a giant willow, not far from the house or the assembled crowd before Kali.

"…with our luck, it's _Cinnamon_."

Ilia shook her head. "I told you, she left on a boat, probably for Haven. Speaking of…"

Sun looked over as Ilia pulled out Fennec's scroll, and swiped the screen.

"…find anything?"

" _Loads_. Enough to turn the tide in our favor, potentially. You go to Blake, and I'll help Kali," Ilia stated.

Sun nodded his agreement, and began to head off for the tree. "See you soon."

Ilia gave Sun a small wave before walking off toward Kali, and Sun returned the gesture. He walked slowly toward the solitary willow, and tried to collect his thoughts along the way. As he neared the tree, the identity of the figure became unmistakable. Blake's white dress shirt caught the glow of the moon, and her obsidian hair flowed gently in the cool breeze of the night air. Sun took a deep breath before walking up to her side, and softening his voice.

"…can I comfort you, or do I need to give you some space? The last thing I want to do right now is upset y-"

Sun never got a chance to finish his sentence as Blake uncrossed her arms and put a soft, freezing finger to his lips to silence him. Her eyeliner had run down her cheeks and dried against her face, and she looked absolutely miserable as she spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Are _you_ okay, Sun?"

Sun made a small, frustrated noise as he turned his head to look away, only for Blake to grip his jaw and turn his head back to face her. At the sight of her intense frown, Sun felt his heart sink and fresh tears start to escape the barricade that he had so carefully set up.

"…n-no. No, I'm not."

It was Blake's turn to offer a vice-like hug, and Sun couldn't find it in himself to do anything but return the gesture with a weak grip of his own.

"Blake, this is all… this is the _worst_."

"Yes. Yes, it is," Blake said with a sigh. "I already spoke to the townspeople. It's Mom's turn, and then, we're taking the fight to the White Fang."

Sun recoiled from the hug in surprise, though Blake kept her hands on his waist. "You did _what?_ How… but aren't you…?"

"Emotionally destroyed?" Blake offered. "Yes. But I'm also _done_. This is the second home I've lost, after Beacon. This is the second family I've seen destroyed, after RWBY. I'm not going to just run away, or simply put up with the hand I'm dealt. It's time to be proactive. It's time that we take control, and make things go _our_ way. I just lost my father. I'm not losing Mom, or you, or Ilia," Blake resolved as she stepped back and folded her arms.

Sun reached up and wiped his eyes once again, before giving Blake a tiny smile. "Good. And… and I'll be here, to do it with you."

"I know. Once we figure out what we're doing tonight, and how, I'm going to focus on comforting you. I know this can't be easy," Blake began, only for Sun to look at her incredulously.

"Blake, you just lost your _dad_. I have no right to b-"

"You have _every_ right!" Blake cut in, her strained voice full of anger. "At least I _had_ a father, got to know him, and had the privilege of growing up with him. Yeah, I'm devastated, but you? Sun, this right here… this family, this _smoking ruin_ that used to be my house? This is everything you wanted, and Adam just stole it all out from under you. I have some happy memories of Dad that I can hold on to forever. You had barely gotten to know him, and figured out how to coexist before he was taken. I won't _let_ you hold back how you're feeling, for my sake. I thought I was being selfless by running away, when my presence caused problems. You helped me to see that I was anything but. Now, though? Now, it's time for me to _really_ be selfless. Let me deal with this, by helping _you_. It's long overdue, and you can't sideline it anymore. If you keep shoving away your feelings and issues and I keep letting you do it, they'll all come out at once in a way neither of us will like, later."

The longer Blake spoke, the more Sun could feel himself losing his composure. He knew deep down that her words were entirely true, but until then, he hadn't allowed himself to accept it. Wordlessly, he walked over to the tree and sat down, before leaning his head back into the bark. Sun closed his eyes and allowed the miserable, selfish feelings to wash over him as a pair of icy hands covered his own.

"Sun… I know what you're probably thinking, but the loss is just as personal for you as it is for me. I'm… going to be mess for a long time, and I'm _barely_ holding it together now, but I know I'll be alright because I have you. You won't _let_ yourself have me. Not in the same way. It's time you did. It doesn't make you weak, or selfish, or entitled… it just makes _us_ family," Blake reassured.

Sun opened his eyes and looked over at Blake. Her own were red and raw, though it seemed that she was done shedding tears. More than enough came from Sun as he slowly shifted and laid his head down into Blake's lap while doing his best to avoid her eyes. Blake cradled him close and began to run her hands through his hair as he simply focused on breathing with his eyes closed. What felt like hours passed in silence, before Blake planted a kiss on the side of Sun's head. He turned to look up at her, to find that she had a steely expression.

"…Mom's coming this way. Get up. Looks like we're about to make our move."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hooray for depressing aftermath! Oddly enough, this chapter came _very_ easily, compared to the last one. I don't know what that says about this story, but let the ramping up begin.

Next update on Thursday.

 **-RD**


	43. In Memoriam

Kali Belladonna walked slowly across the grass, her body framed by a subtle, fuzzy glow from the moonlight. Sun sat up properly and rubbed at his eyes as he watched her approach. Much like her daughter, Kali's makeup was ruined, her hair was streaked with soot and filth, and her expression was dour. Quite unlike her daughter, however, her top was coated with spatters of dried blood, and her expression was a steely glare stern enough to give Sun goosebumps.

"…are you two alright?" Kali asked, her usual motherly warmth entirely absent in her tone. In its place was something that sounded more akin to a growl, and for a moment, the harsh cadence almost reminded Sun of Ghira.

"…physically? We're fine," Blake offered with a weary glance at Sun. "Otherwise… you already know."

Kali reached out and rested a heavy hand on Blake's shoulder, before gently touching her forehead to her daughter's. "I do. But… this is life, now, and our path is clear."

Sun looked down at the grass and leaned back slightly while planting his hands into the ground. He tried to fight back against gravity and turn his frown into anything but, and failed spectacularly.

"Kali… I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry for everything. I wasn't fast enough to find Ghira, and you wanted nothing to do with this, when we first started talking about it. Everything tonight could have been avoided if we'd just…" Sun trailed off, feeling deflated as two sets of eyes glared through him. Over in the distant crowd of assembled faunus, a spirited cheer rang out.

"I told Ghira, when the three of you said you wanted to take back the White Fang, that something horrible could happen as a result. That we were playing with fire, and we were lucky to get out when we did," Kali seethed. "I was _right_ … but I take no pleasure in it. Now, though, it's too late to play 'what-if', or wallow in regret. Ilia was smart enough to get us hard evidence so that we can move on Haven, and Ghira would want us to go there as soon as possible and make sure that he didn't die for nothing. We're going to the school, saving it through any means necessary, and then… then, the White Fang is _mine_."

Blake tensed as she watched the exchange, and then shook her head solemnly. "Mom… are you sure you want to retake a leadership position? Aren't you the reason that Dad left the Fang?"

"Partially, yes… and no, I'm not," Kali agreed as she shook her head. "But I refuse to see the organization we built used for things such as _this_ any longer, and the two of you still have a lot of life left ahead of you, as well as teams to find. The people here are already ready to go and join us as members of the Black Claw, once transport gets here."

"The… Black Claw?" Sun repeated. His heart sank as the answer became immediately obvious to him, and he had a feeling that Kali knew.

"In Ghira's honor. ETA on our flights are still at least six hours. I called in a favor to get word out to the mainland and secure us a few cargo planes. I'd tell you two to sleep, but… I know exactly how pointless that notion would be," Kali said with an annoyed sigh.

Blake shifted her weight to one side, her ears slowly curling downward as she gave her mother an unsure look. "…and what about Dad?"

"Coming with us," Kali replied. "Once Haven is secured, we'll… have a ceremony. Something small, between the three of us." Another rallying cry rang out from the crowd, and Kali's ear flicked toward the assembled people. A sharp, straining voice echoed out into the night before another cheer rose again, and Sun pushed off the grass to dust off the front of his shorts.

"What's going on over there? We're all right here."

Blake's gaze was locked on the steps of the manor, where a figure was pacing back and forth and making spirited hand motions. "…Ilia's not."

Sun followed her eyes to see the outline of his adopted sister raising a fist into the air, earning herself another yell of approval from the crowd. He shook his head as Kali offered him a wry grin.

"…she's really growing up to be something, isn't she? Keep her close, you two."

"We will," Sun said as he looked to Blake. She shot him a sidelong glance, and offered back a firm nod.

"…we will. If there's… _anything_ positive to this mess, it's having her back. That's all thanks to Sun"

Kali walked over to Sun and pulled him into a tight hug. Immediately, she recoiled before he had the chance to return it. More quickly than he could react, Kali trailed her hands up his left arm and to his shoulder, where Ghira's pauldron was clasped around his deep red dress shirt. Kali's eyes locked with Sun's, and he found himself speechless at their intensity.

"I only _just_ noticed," Kali said as her eyes narrowed. Sun tried to look away, but he couldn't bring himself to tear his gaze from her fiery eyes. A long silence followed as Kali gently traced her fingers along the etched metal, before softly resting her palm against the curve of the armor. Suddenly, she pulled her hand back and punched Sun hard in the shoulder, just below the plate. "…it looks good on you."

Sun felt his eyes begin to water once again, and lifted a gloved hand to wipe at them with the back of it. "It… barely fits."

"You'll grow into it," Kali reassured as she flattened her hand against the center of his chest. "I'll give you his belt, to go with it. Keep him with you. Always."

"Always," Sun replied as he looked over to Blake. Instead of finding her there, he saw only the tree, and momentarily panicked before he caught sight of her making her way over toward Ilia and the cheering crowd.

"…lean into her," Kali advised as she dropped her hand back down to her side. "Ghira was there for me when my father died, and it helped a lot. Blake seems to be handling this much better than I expected… but it's plain to see that you're headed for a breakdown."

"That obvious, huh?" Sun mused as he raised his arms into a stretch. "I guess your comparison between Blake and I and your relationship didn't really pan out, after all."

Kali gave Sun a playful look, and shook her head. "…I said our relationship was similar to yours. I never said our roles were the same, within it."

Sun raised a brow, and folded his arms across his chest. "You mean…?"

"…I was like _you_. Honest, eager, selfless to a fault. _Ghira_ played the part of Blake. I never let him in, and kept chipping away at his emotional baggage until I was caught out, vulnerable, and unable to deal with my own worries anymore," Kali informed. "Sound familiar?"

"Uncomfortably so," Sun said. "I think… I think I'm gonna go take a walk, around the house. Just… take it all in, one last time. And, hey- are _you_ alright?"

Kali's expression fell into one of soft appreciation, before she stood on her tiptoes and leaned up to plant a gentle kiss upon his cheek. "…Belladonna women are strong."

"The strongest," Sun agreed. "Can we talk more, later? Maybe on the plane, or after this is all over?"

Kali chuckled, and pinched Sun's cheek. "That's not even a _question_ , Sun. You're practically one of my own, at this point. We'll look after each other."

"Yeah, of course. I'll see you soon, or when the planes get here at the latest," Sun replied as he gave Kali a small wave and began to walk.

"I'll be counting on it," Kali said before turning to join her daughter and Ilia at the steps of the manor.

* * *

"…I promise I'll take care of her. Even better than before. That's all I can really do for you, other than… leaving this. Dumb, I know, but… just take it," Sun said softly as he kept his eyes on the dirt and leaves beneath him. Yet again, his eyes began to feel misty as he continued to whisper to himself, his head in his hands as he sat alone.

"And… I know you probably wouldn't blame me, but I _do_ blame myself for not finding you sooner. They'll want me to let it go, and maybe I will, eventually, but… I tried. I really did. Maybe… if I'd just let the people who work in the manor fend for themselves, I could've gotten there… but you'd never have made that trade, would you?" Sun asked as a teardrop hit the ground. For once, he did nothing to try to hide his feelings.

"I don't know why I'm just… _talking_ right now, alone, like I've lost my mind. I guess some weird part of me hopes you'll give me a sign, or you're listening, or… s-"

"…who are you talking to?"

Sun jumped upright from his seat upon the uneven stump, and brought his arm up to mash his face into the crook of his elbow. He coughed hard and wiped his tears away as he looked around for the speaker, only to find both Blake and Ilia walking toward him between the trees. The pair looked exhausted, unkempt, and emotionally drained as they reached their friend.

"I'd like to know, too," Ilia added as she leaned back into a tree. "I'm guessing you were just mumbling to yourself, though."

"…yeah," Sun hastily admitted. "Sorry. I'm losing it."

"We're _all_ losing it," Blake reassured as she closed the distance and gave Sun a quick kiss. "Finding you took _ages_. The planes are almost here."

"Good, good. Does anything else need doing, or are we pretty much set?" Sun inquired as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, only for Blake to gently push him back down to sit upon his uneven stump.

"We're good, and I wouldn't let you do anything else, anyway," Blake warned.

"Both of us and Kali spoke to the people still in Kuo Kuana... and it's a crowd of about 50. They seem really into this whole 'Black Claw' notion," Ilia said with a wave of her hand. "I… may have gone a little overboard, talking to them."

Blake turned and looked to Ilia, before walking over and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You were _amazing_."

"I was _pissed_ ," Ilia corrected. "I feel… I guess it doesn't matter. We should focus on the _now_."

Sun made a mental note of Ilia's words, before shifting to sit more comfortably on the tree stump. "What _is_ our plan, for 'the now'? We get on the plane, we head for Haven, and…?"

"…I guess it's a few steps, really," Blake began. "I'll contact the local police once we're close enough, and feed them everything we've got. Fennec's scroll is a literal goldmine on the Fang, and there are direct threats against Haven in there."

"Meanwhile, I'm going to monitor my scroll to see when Cinnamon's in range… _if_ she's ever in range," Ilia said with a sigh.

"You really think we can still trust her?" Sun asked.

"Personally… it's going to depend on how she takes the news about our house, and Dad," Blake said. "If I don't hear what I want to hear, she's next on my list."

Ilia furrowed her brows as she looked over to Blake, seemingly offended. "Cinnamon's _not_ responsible for any of this. She would _never_ have allowed the attack on the manor, and especially wouldn't have let Adam… do what he did. Besides- those bombs going to Haven are disabled because she gave me access to them on the ship, _and_ fed me the wires to cut. I trust her. I'd trust her with my life," Ilia finished. Sun and Blake both remained silent as they looked at each other, before Sun ran a hand through his hair.

"…alright. Then, for now, we… assume she's with us, at least partially. I _really_ hope those bombs are still disabled, or it's going to make our job a hell of a lot harder."

"They will be. If they're not… then you can take it out on me, _and_ Cinnamon," Ilia resolved.

"Well… if you two are doing that, I guess I'll call Neptune, once he's in range. That… is _not_ going to be a fun conversation," Sun grumbled.

"…Neptune?" Ilia asked.

"A member of Sun's former team. They're… estranged, right now," Blake explained.

"Yeah, that's one way of putting it. Neptune will help us out, for sure, but the other two…" Sun pulled a face, and scratched at his scalp. "We'll see, I guess. If nothing else, at least we've got the remainder of Kuo Kuana for backup, and more coming. It's not totally hopeless."

"One… small thing," Ilia added. "I've been combing through Fennec's scroll for the last hour or so, and he and Adam kept making mention of a man named Hazel, and… some woman, who neither one of them has named. Some kind of benefactor to Adam, sending him supplies… and pissing him off, for some reason. She's apparently going to be at Haven, too."

A visible chill pulsed through Blake, and her shoulders tensed. Sun gave her a pointed look before she looked away.

"…that means Cinder," Blake spat.

"And where there's Cinder, there's her little gang. No idea on this 'Hazel' guy, but he could be one of them," Sun replied.

Ilia looked between the pair, before shrugging. "You're going to have to explain what the hell _that_ means between here and there, because I'm totally lost. I'm guessing it's not good."

" _Really_ not good," Sun clarified. "We need all the help we can get… though where there's Cinder and her crew…"

"…RWBY might not be far behind," Blake finished. "Gods, if only."

Sun nodded as he rose from his stump. "Keep your eyes on your scrolls while we're in the air, ladies. We've got work to do, a whole new team to assemble, and a school to save."

"All in a day's work," Blake replied with a roll of her eyes. "I guess this is karma for walking out on my team, and the Beacon cleanup effort."

"Well, no matter what it is… let's get going. Kali's probably waiting for us," Ilia said as she uncrossed her arms and reached for Sun's hand. He took it, and clasped his other to Blake's as they set out. The trio began to make their way through the forest in silence, as Sun spared one last look backward at the small clearing he had created with Ghira weeks before. His emblem necklace rested at the base of a cleanly-cut stump, twinkling softly as it caught the moonlight.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Time for the story to fly, quite literally. The Battle of Haven, and then Volume 6 are rapidly approaching, They'll both be _very_ different, and hopefully in a good way.

Next update on Sunday. It's a fun one.

 **-RD**


	44. Ilia's Woods

"…so, she's a completely irredeemable bitch with her head so far up her own ass that she can't see sunlight, convinced that her way is the right way, and that she's above established society as a whole? She basically sounds like Adam, but angry at _all_ life, instead of just humans."

"Yeah, I… guess that sums it up pretty well," Sun considered as he leaned his head back into the cargo netting hanging on the wall behind him. "She's more competent than he is, though, and has more followers that seem able to get things done. Cinder's a legitimate threat, and if she's at Haven… they might not even _need_ bombs to get the job done."

" _Great,_ " Ilia groaned as she mimicked Sun's motion, and rested her head backward as well while hugging her knees. "That means, if we do manage to deal with Adam… we're not done. Not until _she's_ under control, too."

Sun gave Ilia a quizzical glance, and scooted over along the smooth metal of the plane's floor to touch shoulders with her as they sat together in the cargo bay.

"…you sure you want in on all of this? I still don't think you really owe us anything, but if you help us take down Adam… there's your supposed 'debt' paid off in full. Cinder's a whole other job, and probably a lot more dangerous, all things considered."

"You're not getting rid of me _that_ easily, bro," Ilia joked as she nudged her shoulder into Sun's. "I'm in it for the long haul, now. I've got nowhere else to go, and no family but you guys."

Sun nodded as he listened, and idly swished his tail behind himself. "I mean, I'm pretty much in the same boat. Our plan was to look for Team RWBY next, and go from there. If we get lucky, we might be headed straight for 'em, and then we can make a game plan. I'd hate f-"

Ilia interrupted Sun with an undignified squeal and punctuated the noise with an unexpected flailing of her arms as her scroll began to ring with a shrill tone. She accidentally smacked Sun across the nose with her wild motions, and the boy rubbed at his face as Ilia pulled her scroll from her pocket and held the device up.

" _Hey!_ Watch it, alright?"

"Sorry," Ilia replied, her eyes glued to the screen. "It's… _her_."

"Cinnamon?" Sun inquired as he leaned over to take a look. A small icon of a dark-skinned face with short white dreadlocks and matching, striped tattoos along her cheeks stared back at him with blazing orange eyes.

"Yeah. We must have _just_ gotten in range. I've been checking every few minutes since we took off. I think it's a good sign that she's contacting _us_ ," Ilia stated as she took a deep breath.

"Here's hoping. Don't leave her hanging."

Ilia nodded her agreement, before tapping the screen to connect the call and tapping it again to put the device on speaker. She brought her legs down to cross them, and rested the scroll in her lap.

"…hello? Cin?"

 _"Amitola!"_ came the deep, husky voice over the line. Sun shivered involuntarily as he listened in, but remained silent. " _What's going on? Where are you?"_

"I'm… listen, are you safe to talk? Like, _really_ talk?" Ilia questioned.

" _I'm not stupid, you know. Yes, I'm alone. Adam's apparently inbound for Haven Academy as we speak, according to Corsac."_

Ilia raised a brow, and exchanged a confused glance with Sun. "…not according to himself?"

 _"Oh, we're not talking,"_ Cinnamon replied with a bit of annoyance in her tone. _"I haven't picked up any of his calls. I told him_ _ **not**_ _to stay in Kuo Kuana, both to save you some grief and because we have bigger things to attend to… but he wouldn't listen to me, so I'm not listening to him, in return."_

"That's… I don't even know what to make of that, but listen- I'm on a plane right now, headed for Haven Academy. Sun's right next to me, and Blake and Kali are on board. Half of Kuo Kuana is coming, too, to put a stop to the attack. We know _everything_ , Cinnamon. Even what you didn't tell me directly."

Cinnamon scoffed. " _Well, I'm not going to tell you_ _ **everything**_ _. It's too suspicious if things go off without a hitch, and Adam's little attack on the school is going to blow up in his face as it is. Or…_ _ **not**_ _blow up in his face, if you know what I'm saying. What happened? How did you get your information?"_

Ilia bit her lip and took a few deep breaths as she closed her eyes to mentally prepare herself to relive the previous night. She never got the chance, as Sun leaned over the scroll and began to speak.

"Adam murdered Ghira Belladonna, after setting fire to the mansion. He and I fought to a draw, he ran with his tail between his legs, and Kali took out Fennec in a fit of rage. We have his scroll, and that led us to you," Sun seethed.

A long, uncomfortable stretch of dead air came over the line. Sun cracked his neck as he waited, and Ilia rubbed her temples.

" _…I know it probably means nothing, but I'm sorry for your loss. Ghira was a good man, and Fennec will be missed. This is exactly why I told Adam to come with us, instead of staying behind. He's made a fine mess of things, now. Just to clarify, though-_ _ **I'm**_ _not at Haven, nor will I be. I'm closer to the Mistrali border with a small unit. Once you all thwart this stupid plot and do whatever you see fit with Adam, I'll roll in and take hold of the Fang. From there, we can all sit down and hammer out a… deal, of sorts. Something that will benefit both sides."_

"Yeah, that's gonna be a negative," Sun replied immediately. "Kali's set on taking over the Fang, and even if you're… 'with us', supposedly, you've already done enough shady stuff that I think she's a better call. She's got you beat on morals, experience, and would probably garner more support from the general public, once word gets out that her husband was murdered, and _you're_ shacking up with Adam."

Ilia punched Sun hard in the shoulder, and mouthed a silent ' _what are you doing!?'_ as they awaited a response. Sun ignored her, and narrowed his eyes as he glared down at the portrait on the scroll.

 _"…from your perspective, that makes sense… but I have my reasons, and my ways. Like I said- we'll talk. I'm open to discussion, and a_ _ **deal**_ _, but it's going to have to wait. You've got an asshole to stop, and I've got authorities to call with an anonymous tip to help you out. Focus on your crusade against Adam, for now, and I'll re-enter the picture after the dust has settled."_

Ilia jumped back into the conversation before Sun could speak again, and picked up the scroll. "Yeah. Let's just cool off for a bit, and _then_ worry about the future when it gets here. Thanks for keeping in touch, and sticking with us, Cin."

 _"Not a problem, Amitola. I'm a woman of my word."_

Ilia nodded and hovered her thumb over the screen to end the call, only for Cinnamon to start up again after a brief pause.

 _"…Sun?"_

Sun tried and failed to fight back a grimace as he busied himself with adjusting his pauldron.

"…yeah?"

" _I'm sorry we got off to such a shitty start, especially with the whole… using you as a hostage and playing with your semblance bit. It was nothing personal- just defending my home. No hard feelings?"_

Two words came to Sun's mind almost immediately, but he fought them back as he looked over at Ilia. Her eyes were pleading for him to accept the apology, and so, he heaved a massive sigh before propping his elbows on his knees and putting his head into his hands.

"… _yeah_. Sure, whatever. We can start over, I guess. And… _thanks_ for saving my life, back in the square."

" _Don't mention it. Adam's crossed too many lines lately for me to even continue_ _ **pretending**_ _to care. He's on his own, now. I'll see you two at the finish line."_

A message of **CALL ENDED** flashed upon the screen, and Ilia hung her head as she let out a sigh of relief.

"…thank you."

"I've got your back, alright? But I'm not gonna _not_ call her out, when she's got no right to just lay claim to the White Fang because she's a double agent. She's still complicit in a lot of things that shouldn't have happened," Sun stated matter-of-factly.

"I mean… so am I," Ilia admitted as she put her scroll back into her pocket and drew her knees back up to her chest. She looped her arms around them in a self-hug once again, before giving Sun a rather pathetic look and turning her facial scales a powder blue. Sun shifted uncomfortably, and frowned.

"…stop that."

"Stop what?" Ilia teased in a singsong voice as she continued her efforts.

"…making points I don't have a defense for. This is all really complicated, and I'm not a complicated guy, alright? Politics are out of my wheelhouse, and I probably shouldn't have said anything. I screwed up," Sun griped.

"First of all, you _are_ a complicated guy," Ilia pointed out as she changed her expression to be more neutral.

Sun rolled his eyes. "Yeah? How?"

"A simple guy would spend most of his time with Blake staring at her boobs, instead of being her wall to lean on," Ilia countered.

"Oh, like you do?" Sun teased, only to get smacked upside the head.

"…you're an _ass_ ," Ilia accused. "Also, totally guilty. Second, maybe it's better that you _did_ say something. Questioning people keeps them honest, and I don't know anyone better with honesty than you. I don't think you're even capable of lying."

Sun chuckled, and offered her a toothy grin. "Guess you don't know I used to be a thief, and street hustler. Blake changed all that."

Ilia looked at Sun in surprise, before shaking her head sadly. "…she really does change people. So do you."

"I'm trying. But… some people can't be saved," Sun said ominously as he pulled out his own scroll. "Guess it's my turn. I _really_ hope Neptune picks up…"

"He will," Ilia said reassuringly. "You said he's cool, right?"

" _Too_ cool, sometimes," Sun grumbled as he began to scroll through his contacts. His face fell into a frown as he pulled up the page for his team, and his heart sank.

"What? What's wrong?" Ilia asked as she leaned over to try to peek at the screen.

"…Neptune and Scarlet's scrolls are either out of range, or off. I've got signal to Sage, but it's weak… and I'm pretty sure he's _pissed_ at me. The guy knows how to hold a grudge," Sun warned as he tapped on the contact.

"Lives are at stake. Grudges can wait," Ilia said as she stood up and raised her arms in a full-body stretch. Sun merely nodded as he set the device down into his lap as Ilia had done before, and put the scroll on speaker as it began to ring. After what felt like an hour, but what was in reality five rings, a surly, unimpressed voice came over the line.

" _…you have got a_ _ **lot**_ _of goddamned nerve calling this number."_

"Sage, wait, don't hang up! Please!" Sun insisted as he immediately brought his head into his hands once again. "This is serious! I need the entire team, if they're around!"

 _"What, trying to bum a condom off one of us for your little cat girl? I don't even know why I bothered to pick up."_

Sun's eyes widened as Sage's voice grew more distant. " _Sage!_ Don't do this, man! Cinder's crew is planning an attack on Haven Academy, and we're on our way to defend it! We need backup! We can sort out the team later, and…"

Ilia gave Sun a sympathetic look as he stopped talking, and received no reply. Moments later, a scuffle and garbled yelling came over the line from somewhere in the background of the call. Sun nervously tapped his fingers against the side of his head, before another familiar, albeit lighter voice echoed out in the cargo hold.

 _"Hello? Sun? Are you still there?"_

Sun let out a huge sigh as he dug his fingernails into the side of his head out of stress. "Oh, thank gods, Neptune, you're there!"

 _"Yeah, of course I'm here! My scroll's off, and Sage is being Sage, but I've got your back. What's up? Did you find Blake? Where are you?"_

Sun couldn't fight back the grin that came in response to his friend's concern, but he quickly got it back under control as he shook his head.

"I… yeah, I did, and I'm on my way to you now, in a plane. But, listen- her ex, that crazy Adam guy? He's planning to blow Haven Academy sky high, and that Cinder woman might be there, too. Blake, her mom, her friend, and I are on the way with half an island's worth of faunus to stop it. I need backup, man. I'm sorry I left you guys hanging for so long, b-"

" _Ah!"_ Neptune interrupted, and Sun fell silent. _"Don't worry about it. I said I'd take care of things, and I don't go back on a promise… even though things got pretty bad, while you were away. Where do I meet you?"_

"You're in?" Sun asked hopefully as he picked up the scroll and rose to stand.

 _"What do you think? Of_ _ **course**_ _I'm in! What friend wouldn't be?"_

Sun closed his eyes, and rubbed his forehead. "…you're the best, dude. I'll find a way to make this up to you."

" _…is Blake's friend cute, and single?"_

Ilia shot Sun a deadpan look, and walked closer to the scroll. "Yes, she's cute. _Really_ cute, and aggressively single."

Neptune's voice adopted a hopeful tone, and Sun could practically hear his million-lien grin over the scroll.

 _"…well hey there, cutie."_

Ilia rolled her eyes and folded her arms with a devilish smirk. "She's also gay. _Extremely_ gay."

Sun snorted in amusement as Neptune was momentarily at a loss for words.

 _"…oh! Well, hi there, anyway! Neptune Vasilias, at your service."_

"…Ilia Amitola, and you _definitely_ won't be 'servicing' me, anytime soon. Maybe tone down the charm a bit, before you go barking up the wrong tree?" Ilia advised in a playful tone.

 _"Yeah, maybe. But never mind all that- listen, Ilia, this is all going to work out. We've got this! Sun's a good guy, a great leader, and an awesome fighter… and now, you've got me! Just play it cool, take it slow, and trust us. We'll take care of things."_

Ilia raised a brow and looked to Sun, who couldn't help but smile.

"…yeah, we will. Listen, we're gonna touch down right outside the city gates, and walk in to see if we can't get the drop on anyone scheming around Haven. Meet us there?"

 _"You got it, Sun."_ Neptune's voice dropped down to a near whisper. _"…is she really gay, or did I just come on too strong?"_

Ilia huffed as her scales flashed red. "She's really gay, and you're still on speakerphone, dumbass!"

 _"…right, seeya, gotta run! I'll convince Sage and bring him along!"_

"… _so_ dumb," Sun mused as he ended the call and stashed away his scroll. "Sorry about him, he's… yeah, let's just settle on 'dumb'."

Ilia flashed Sun a grin. "…I like him already. We should be about half an hour out. Maybe 45. Let's get Blake from the cockpit, and do one last gear check."

Sun nodded his agreement, and began to walk toward the door at the end of the bay. "Neptune's right. We got this."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

A new dumbass has joined the party.

Posted this _way_ early due to the holiday tomorrow, so I figured I would give people a chance to read it now, in case they're tied up tomorrow. Next update on Wednesday.

 **-RD**


	45. Moment of Truth

Sun kept an arm tight around Blake's waist as the buildings surrounding Haven Academy came into view from the cockpit. Ilia shifted uncomfortably as she leaned against the wall, and Kali narrowed her eyes as she spoke in a low growl.

"…they have _no_ idea what's coming for them. We can't afford any mistakes- I'll radio the other planes and have them take up position around the walls, as close to the Academy as possible. You three, get ready for drop off near the city gates, and make your way in swiftly and silently."

Sun nodded as he kissed the back of Blake's ear. "You got it. Neptune, and hopefully Sage and Scarlet, will meet us there. A party of six should be able to approach without too much commotion, as long as we're smart. Maybe we'll split three and three?"

"That sounds good," Blake agreed as she looked up to Sun. "I think the divide is an obvious one, too."

Ilia pushed off the wall and laced her fingers together into an outward stretch before herself. "Yeah. Have you checked your scroll for your team, yet?"

Blake let out a small noise of frustration as she drew her scroll and hovered a finger over the screen. "I… I think I was planning to just ignore it, and hope that they would call _me_ , if they're around. What do I even say?"

Sun added another kiss to Blake's cheek, and gave her a sympathetic look. "I'll help you, if they're actually in range. They'd be happy to see you, if anything. Trust me."

"You know I do," Blake said with unease. She pressed her finger to the touchscreen and navigated to her contacts, only for her face to go ghost white.

"…what?" Ilia asked as she folded her arms.

"They're… they're here. They're _all_ here. Ruby, Weiss… Yang… even Team JNPR is in range!" Blake said in surprise, only for her ears to wilt immediately. "Well… I guess they're not JNPR, anymore, are they? I don't…" she began, only to trail off.

"We can worry about their team name later, this is _great_ news!" Sun cut in as he braced his hands onto Blake's shoulders. "Call someone!"

"Start with the leader, maybe?" Kali offered as she leaned over the pilot's shoulder and began to give instructions.

Blake merely nodded, and connected a call to Ruby. The cockpit fell into tense silence as Blake waited, her eyes growing more desperate by the second.

"…why isn't she answering me…?"

Sun bit his lip, and gave Blake's shoulder a squeeze. "Maybe it's on silent? Try Weiss?"

Blake ended the call, and attempted to contact her other friend, only to be met with a similar result. Without a word, she dialed Yang, and waited breathlessly for a response. Ilia rubbed at her upper arms, and shook her head.

"…something's wrong. Are we too late?"

"Or are they all actively ignoring me? I wouldn't exactly blame them," Blake complained as she ended the call.

"C'mon, don't give up!" Sun encouraged. "Try someone from… whatever they're called, now!"

Blake narrowed her eyes, and pressed the screen once again. "…Nora. If anyone wouldn't blow me off, it would be her. Or at least, she'd blow me off loudly and publicly."

Again, the call let out several rings, before a panicked voice came over the line.

 _"Hello!? Blake!?"_

"Nora!" Blake yelled in disbelief. "What's going on? Why is nobody answering? Where are you guys?"

A loud crash echoed through the scroll's speakers, followed by an unfamiliar yell.

 _"Haven Academy! Come f-"_ the call was interrupted by a bout of static, and more angry voices. _"-eed you! Get here as quickly as you can!"_

"Is it Adam? Is Adam Taurus inside?" Blake asked, her shoulders tense.

 _"Ad-…"_ more static interrupted her voice, only for the bubbly tone to surge back unexpectedly. " _No, Adam's not in here. Cinder, a-… -cury, a-…"_

"Nora? Nora, are you there? Nora!" Blake attempted, before the call ended abruptly. She whirled on Kali and the pilot, and twisted out of Sun's grip to lean over the chair. "Set Sun and Ilia down, _now!_ We need to get around to the back of the Academy, unseen! I'm going in alone!"

Sun opened his mouth to protest, before closing it with an annoyed grunt. "…alright. You get in there, and find out what's going on. Call us with details, if you can, and we'll bring the rest of SSSN in through the front door."

Ilia nodded, and moved to stand next to Sun. "And if _we_ see Adam… we'll call you, and take care of it."

Blake turned once again and marched up to Sun, before pulling him into a passionate kiss. He accepted the gesture, and briefly draped his hands along the curves of her hips.

"Be _safe_ , Sun. We'll meet inside."

"Go get 'em," he replied with a nod. "RWBY is unstoppable. I'll see you soon."

Blake nodded, and tightened her grip around Sun as the cargo plane began to rapidly descend. Upon touching the ground, Sun eased out of Blake's grasp and gave her a crisp salute, before he and Ilia walked out of the cockpit and into the cargo bay, where the long section of floor at the back end had already begun to descend into a ramp.

Ilia punched Sun in the shoulder as they approached the exit, and gave him a quick nod. "You ready to do this?"

Sun gave her an uneasy smile. "…gotta admit, knowing that it's already going down inside the Academy isn't exactly what I was hoping for… and if Cinnamon's right, Adam and Corsac are somewhere outside. That'll be _our_ fight."

"But this time, we're ready," Ilia replied. "We've got this. We've… oh my god, this douche dyed his hair electric blue," she finished as they reached the bottom of the ramp, only to be greeted by a smirking adolescent.

Neptune Vasilias stood quite tall, wearing his usual red jacket, yellow goggles, and charming smile. His halberd was balanced along his shoulders as he hung both hands up and over the shaft. He shot Ilia a quick wink, before speaking in a smooth tone.

" _Dyed?_ Excuse me, it's all natural. 'Sup?"

Ilia regarded him with a look of both shock and horror, before shaking her head and bringing a hand up to her forehead. "…I think I'm actually gayer, now."

Sun jumped ever so slightly as the cargo ramp began to retract, and the plane began a vertical ascent behind them once again.

"Neptune… gods, it's good to see you, man." Sun outstretched a hand, only for Neptune to blow past it and scoop him into a crushing hug. Sun gingerly returned it with a guilty smile.

"…you, too. It sounds like this is pretty serious?" he asked as he pulled away and clasped his hand firmly around Sun's.

"Extremely. We don't have any time to waste; there's already a fight going on inside the school. No Sage or Scarlet…?" Sun asked, already fearing the answer.

Neptune let out a weary, uncharacteristic sigh, and shook his head. "Scarlet's… gone."

" _Gone?_ What do you mean, 'gone'?" Sun asked as he looked over to Ilia. The girl had busied herself with doing a quick weapon check by extending her whip and snapping it back into several configurations.

"He sorta… _left_. He decided to go his own way, and leave SSSN last month. So we're sorta… SSN, now. Possibly _SN_ , if Sage's reaction to all of this is anything to go by. He absolutely refused to come out tonight, because of you," Neptune finished as he looked over to Ilia. She scowled back at him, and gave her weapon one final _snap_.

"Then we don't _need_ them. This goes beyond petty arguments and bullshit. Let's get going."

Neptune inclined his head her way, and looked back to Sun. "Is she always this pleasant?"

"Only around new people, or assholes," Sun offered with a grin.

"Time will tell which you are," Ilia added with an icy glare, before softening her features ever so slightly. "But… _thank you_ , for helping us. Seriously."

"Hey, Sun's my main man, and this is our job, right? We're supposed to protect the people, and blowing up an Academy isn't benefitting anyone. So… let's get to it!" Neptune said with an enthusiastic smile. "Lead the way, man! Go Team SIN!"

Sun and Ilia exchanged looks, before they spoke in unison. "… _no_."

"Dude, just… _absolutely_ not," Sun griped as he brought a palm to his forehead.

"That's _awful_ ," Ilia agreed as she gave Neptune an unimpressed look.

"Oh, what _ever_ ," Neptune shot back with a wave of his hand. "Let's hear you come up with a better one!"

"Let's _get going_ , before Haven Academy burns to the ground," Sun corrected, before breaking into a run. Ilia took off immediately after him, while Neptune lagged for a moment, and then brought up the rear.

"Hey, _wait!_ " he cried, as he broke into a sprint. "So, uh, details, my guy? Where's Blake? Is she alright?"

"Blake's…" Sun trailed off as another cargo plane flew overhead. He looked up, before snapping his eyes back to the road ahead and keeping up his pace. "…she's in one of those, with her mom, headed for Haven. She's not doing great. Her dad just… we lost him, last night. To Adam."

Neptune's face twisted into an expression of disgust as he tried to process the information. "That's…"

"It's a huge part of why we're here," Ilia said icily. "And if we _do_ find him, _you_ are going to back off, so you don't get yourself killed. Sun and I have some idea what he's capable of. You don't. I don't want to see you get skewered while trying to be a hero."

"Aw, you _do_ care!" Neptune lilted as Ilia rolled her eyes. "But seriously, though- I don't even know what to say. She's taking it badly, I'm guessing?"

Sun didn't reply at first, and Ilia filled the silence.

"Better than either of us expected her to, but still, not great."

"…she's handling it better than me," Sun admitted with a frown. "We got… close. Like… maybe he was sorta becoming _my_ dad, close."

Neptune's expression melted from disgust and confusion to something softer. Ilia watched, interested as she tried to figure out the dynamic between the two boys, but came up short.

"I'm… sorry, man. I dunno how much you want me to say, but…"

"Ilia knows," Sun said quickly. "It's cool."

Neptune gave each a glance as they rounded a corner together, and made their way onto the main footpath through the city. "So, _you two_ must be close, then."

"He's my brother. Period," Ilia said with a sense of finality.

"…yep. So be nice, alright?" Sun asked.

"Hey, now! That's great news! Sorry about the whole flirting thing, it's just what I do," Neptune offered to Ilia as she let out a sigh.

"You and most boys. It's _fine_."

Neptune raised a brow, before looking back to Sun. "You know what I'm gonna ask. _Well?_ "

Sun looked to Ilia for help, but received only cold denial in the form of her shaking head.

"…Blake and I are a thing, yeah. And it's… even better than I could've hoped for."

Neptune's grin finally returned in full form, though instead of the loud, boyish enthusiasm it had before, his tone was one of honest warmth. "Congrats, man. I told you not to give up."

"Yeah, yeah, you were right. Blake's… she's the one," Sun mused as he continued to run. The Academy came into view ahead of them, and he picked up speed as the others matched his pace.

" _How about we focus on the incredibly dangerous undertaking that is now in clear view?_ " Ilia seethed. Neptune looked at her with a bit of confusion, before realization dawned on him. He shot Sun a sideways look and received a curt nod.

"Right. I'll follow your leads, since I'm the new guy in all this. Adam's yours, and I'll play a support role. Cool?"

"Cool," Sun affirmed as they made their way forward.

Before long, a line of uniformed White Fang grunts stood fifty feet before them, with the familiar form of Adam pacing in front of the line. Sun grit his teeth and twirled his weapons up into his grip, before firing a warning shot into the dirt at Adam's feet. The man jumped at the noise, and Sun, Ilia, and Neptune all ran to a stop before the line of soldiers as each drew their guns and Adam rested a hand atop the hilt of his blade.

 _"Again_ with this? I thought that perhaps losing Ghira would send a message to stay _out_ of our affairs," Adam snarled.

Sun narrowed his eyes as he joined his nunchaku into a long staff. "It's over, Adam. We know what you're up to, and we've got backup. You're not getting away, this time."

As though on cue, two cargo planes, one from each side, moved in over the walls of the city and set down next to the Academy. Faunus began to pour from the planes as a third plane circled around the spire of Haven and moved to hover over the ground, shining lights on Adam as Kali peeked out from the side hatch with a megaphone.

 _"Throw down your weapons and come quietly!"_ she demanded, her eyes locked on Adam's. He hissed in rage as he watched the assembling faunus greatly outnumber his group of around fifty grunts. Each shifted their aim between multiple targets as more faunus emerged from behind nearby buildings, backed up by the local police force. The scene quickly turned into a standoff as multiple members of the White Fang began to back away toward the school, and Adam threw up a hand signal for them to stop their retreat. Few bothered to obey, and he shot Sun a venomous look.

"How… when did you even…?"

"It's _over,_ Adam. You went surgical, we went _nuclear_. No more running, no more games, and no more gloating. You might be able to take me… maybe even Ilia and I together, but you can't take _all_ of us," Sun threatened. "And you have no idea where the one who wants your head most is, do you? She's close. Close enough to take control."

Adam bared his teeth, before he let out a labored breath. He raised his sheathed sword in front of himself, and then dropped the entire thing into the grass. Several members of the White Fang began to murmur amongst themselves, and Adam started to speak over them in a slow, calm tone.

"…lower your weapons, brothers and sisters. This battle may be lost… but the war is still ours," Adam began. Sun rolled his eyes at the statement, and Adam raised his gaze to meet them. "You've forgotten one, pivotal fact, _little boy_."

Sun planted his staff into the stone walkway beneath himself with a loud bang as he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "Yeah? _Regale_ me, _old man_. What do you think you've got, after all this?"

Adam reached slowly into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, black, handheld device. His thumb rested atop a depressed red button as he lifted the remote skyward, and his men recoiled in shock.

"…when you all die here, you've got nothing left. That's the disadvantage of going all-in. We'll be _martyrs_. Another reason for my successor to fight harder, more viciously, and remove more people like _you_ from our path than ever before. Make one move, and I let the switch go. Haven is rigged to blow, and _all_ of us are in the blast radius."

Neptune stammered as he helpfully pointed to Adam's hand, his own shaky as his eyes widened. "Sun, t-that's a detonator…"

Sun grit his teeth as he ignored his friend, and found that despite everything, his breath still caught in his chest at the potential for disaster. He felt his every muscle tighten as the theoretical suddenly became very real, and neither he nor Adam blinked or looked away from each other. From out of his line of sight, a warm hand rested on his bare forearm as Ilia leaned in and whispered into his ear.

" _Trust her."_

Sun's lip twitched as he managed one last, uneven breath.

"If that's what you think… then do it, you psychotic, delusional tyrant."

Several members of the police and the townsfolk of Kuo Kuana turned to shout at Sun. Without missing a beat, Adam lifted his thumb from the dead man's switch, only for nothing to happen. With his state of shock clear upon his features, he hammered the button several more times as his followers began to join in the angry yelling. Adam tossed the remote onto the ground and bent to scoop up his sword as Sun fired off several shots, only for Adam to deflect them with Blush.

" _Kill them!"_ Adam commanded as he took off at a sprint. A grand total of ten members of the White Fang opened fire into the crowd of police officers, while several others got down on their knees and dropped their weapons, and still more began to run in random directions. The townsfolk of Kuo Kuana charged as Sun quickly turned to Neptune.

"Let them fight it out! Get inside, and help out Blake and the others with whatever!"

Neptune hastily lowered his goggles over his eyes as he swung his halberd down and around while transforming it into a gun. "What are you doing?"

Sun looked over to Ilia, who had already taken off after Adam into the tree line to the side of the Academy.

"Ending this!" he replied as he followed after her without so much as a look back. Neptune merely nodded and took one final deep breath before sprinting toward the front doors of Haven Academy.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I am so pleased that the events moving forward seem uncertain and intriguing, especially when it comes to Cinnamon and Adam's fates. Rest assured- it's _all_ planned out already, and I'm working through updates as quickly as I can. I'll have more to share in specifics once we hit the final five or so, but that's still a decent distance away.

Next update on Saturday.

 **-RD**


	46. Unraveling

"I've got eyes on him!" Ilia yelled over her shoulder as she and Sun thundered through the trees. A good ten feet ahead of her was the fuzzy black, red, and white blur that was Adam Taurus as he tried to avoid their efforts.

Sun didn't bother to reply as he leaped over a fallen tree and finally passed Ilia. He kept his eyes laser focused on Adam's back as he unlinked his staff and fired off a shot at a nearby tree. Splinters of bark flew in all directions as Adam cursed and ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding the errant round.

"Sun! I've got an idea!"

For only a moment, Sun allowed himself a glance backward at Ilia. In her hand was Fennec's sai, the engraved trails spiraling up the central point glowing with faint white energy. Sun reassembled his staff and transferred it to one hand as he held out the other.

"Give it up! How do you use that thing?"

Ilia replied by gently tossing him the weapon, and Sun managed the catch with ease.

"Channel aura into the hilt! You're faster, so block his path! I'll try to approach from the side!"

Without waiting for confirmation, Ilia split off and disappeared into the trees as she shifted her skin to a dense green. Sun quickly lost sight of her amongst the foliage, and returned his focus to Adam. The older man had gained some ground in the exchange, and showed no signs of slowing. Sun let out a low growl as he raised the sai and concentrated, before unleashing a twisting vortex of wind aimed for the base of a tree not far from Adam. The wood immediately flexed and cracked, before the entire thing began to lean dangerously. Adam stepped to the side to look up at the branches as the massive oak began to fall, and narrowly avoided the mass of the tree as it came down.

"Get back here, you coward!" Sun yelled as he aimed for another tree. He repeated the process with the sai and then channeled another harsh blast of wind for a third tree. The giants of the forest began to fall all around Adam as he drew his sword and focused on cutting through the falling trunks in mid run. Suddenly, he skidded to a halt beyond the last falling tree, and whirled to face Sun with a devilish smile.

"This is our third encounter, you know. That's two more than I would normally allow an enemy," Adam warned as he dropped into a ready stance, the blade of Wilt pointed for Sun's chest. He, too, stopped and spun his staff to rest behind his back as he began to circle. Adam followed suit, and offered Sun a condescending chuckle. "You want this little patch of forest to be our final battleground? So be it."

A distinct feeling of unease washed over Sun as he prepared to attack, and he paused to stall for time. "You could avoid all of this, if you'd come quietly. No one else has to die, Adam. _You're_ making that choice."

"Killing comes easily, with enough practice. You'll see," Adam replied. All traces of frustration and nervousness seemed to have left him, and the realization only served to shake Sun's resolve even more. "I know what you're doing. Ilia's in the tree line, but you're not sure just where. Unfortunate that she's not alone."

Several leaves from the canopy of rustled trees began to gently fall toward the earth in the silence. Sun cast a quick look to the direction that Ilia had run, and by the time he looked back to Adam, the bull faunus was already in his face with a lunging strike.

Sun barely got his staff up in time to deflect the blow, and redirected the point of Adam's sword off to his side. The second slash connected with his side, and Sun let out a cry of surprise as he felt his aura drain rapidly. With a rush of adrenaline, he jabbed his staff into Adam's stomach and engaged the armored pauldron to snake steel plates down and around his left arm. Adam took another swing and sparks flew as the blade of Wilt scraped along the glittering metal, before the two men backed off and began to circle once again.

Adam let his eye trail from Sun's feet up to his face. " _Touching_ , really. Kali even gave you his belt, it seems. Tell me, how many times did you have to wrap it around yourself, just to keep it from falling down?"

"I'm not going to let you get to me," Sun spat as he tucked Fennec's sai into the belt and cracked his staff back into twin nunchaku.

"Are you sure about that? I've managed it every time we've met so far," Adam reminded. "Though, maybe this time, you're right. Ghira wasn't really… _important_ enough for me to remember much specific detail, so I might have a hard time g-"

Sun felt something irrational and feral take over as he launched into a twirling assault. Adam was ready, and deflected each blow from the whirling weapons as Sun let out an impassioned yell. Slowly, the blade of Wilt began to glow with a slick, pink resonance with each impact against it, and only after noticing did Sun back off, his chest heaving.

"There it is," Adam mused as he sheathed Wilt. "You're digging yourself a fine little hole. Those feelings are familiar, _kid_. I've learned to master and use that rage. You're just now discovering how you _really_ feel about your situa-"

" _Shut up!_ " Sun interrupted. "Shut the _fuck_ up!"

Sun punctuated the curse with a pair of timed blasts from his weaponry. His rage only grew as Adam deftly drew his sword and turned his body to use Wilt to block one shot, as Blush caught and deflected the other.

" _That_ trick has worn out its usefulness. I don't make the same mistake twice… yet here you are, allowing your allies to separate from you, yet again. I expect those tears to only grow hotter as you realize just how badly you're outmatched."

Sun's lip twitched as he finally noticed the shameful trails spilling down his cheeks. His hands shook as he tried to decide his next course of action, only for the whirl of voices in his mind to turn into nothing but noise. He launched another assault, and Adam was happy to oblige. The two met once again, and Sun rejoined his staff in the middle of the attack to clash against Wilt as Adam brought the blade down in an overhead counter.

Steel ground against steel as Sun was forced down to a knee, desperately holding his staff horizontally to prop up the descending blade. The razor edge glowed a hot pink as a dent began to form within Sun's staff, and color seemed to drain from his surroundings. Adam's eye glowed ominously as he sneered down at Sun and pushed harder into the staff.

"Is this really the best you can do, even with all that rage?"

In response, Sun moved a hand just beneath the pressure from Wilt and quickly reached around his back with the other. He drew Fennec's sai back around and pressed the tip into Adam's stomach before unleashing yet another massive gust that sent Adam careening backward into a nearby tree, blade and sheath in hand. A meaty _thwack_ echoed in the forest as the back of Adam's head impacted the hard wood, and Sun charged forward with a spirited yell.

Adam looked up in a dazed state as Sun approached, only to receive a harsh strike across the face from his nunchaku. The bull's head whipped to the side as he spat blood and lifted his sword to try to deflect the oncoming assault. Sun merely struck at Adam's hand in response, and the man let go of Wilt with a pained cry as his pointer finger was bent backward. The assault didn't stop as Sun landed another strike across Adam's face and screamed.

"You took the _one_ thing I've wanted since I was a kid!" Sun's entire body felt numb as he stomped a foot into Adam's stomach and pressed the rod of his weapon up against Adam's throat. Adam raised Blush with his good hand and slammed it hard into Sun's side, but earned only another growl as Sun pushed hard into his windpipe. "Stop _struggling!"_

Adam let out a few pitiful noises as he began to choke, and raised both hands to grip at Sun's weapon. He opened his mouth to try to speak, only for Sun to punch him square in the mouth with Ghira's armored sleeve.

"I don't want to hear it! You have _no_ power over me, or Blake, or _anyone!_ "

Seemingly out of nowhere, an explosion sounded off to Sun's left as a fiery plume rose up somewhere in the cluster of trees. Branches and leaves caught fire as the flashing mass dissipated, and a nearby maple began to fall dangerously close to the pair of struggling men. Adam took advantage of the moment's hesitation as Sun was caught by surprise and slammed his head forward into Sun's. Sun blinked and shook his head in a daze, only for Adam to summon the last of his strength and shove the younger faunus off of him.

Another gout of flame ripped through the trees in a horizontal pattern, igniting bark, bushes, and grass as it tore through the forest and stopped mere feet from Sun and Adam. Adam gripped Wilt and made a desperate stab for Sun as the reality of the situation became clear to him. Sun managed to catch the blade in Fennec's sai, only for Adam to twist his wrist and wrench the weapon out of Sun's grasp and into the trees, near another jet of fire.

"No power? I'll show you _exactly_ what power I wield," Adam threatened. Once again, Sun began to see in monochrome as Adam sheathed the glowing blade of Wilt. In a flash, Sun dropped his staff and clasped his hands in a desperate move. Three golden doubles blinked into existence next to a falling, flaming tree and pushed to redirect it toward Adam as he moved to draw his blade. At the last second, he caught sight of the impending danger and drew forth Wilt, charged by his semblance.

The arcing cut brought forth a red and black beam of energy so fast and volatile that Sun barely saw it before the entire tree was carved in half, lengthwise. The two sides of the massive tree fell harmlessly to either side of Adam as the grass around him caught fire. Sun took the opportunity to gather up his staff and make a mad dash into the trees as another whirl of flame gave away the position of another attacker.

" _Ilia!"_ he screamed as he ran. "Ilia, where are you!? Yell if you can hear me!"

Flames engulfed much of the forest around him as he ran, and strained to listen for any response from Ilia.

" _Sun!_ " came the desperate, worried call. "I need help!"

Without hesitation, Sun adjusted his course to better follow the voice. To his horror, the request was backed up by a feminine scream of pain, and another stream of flame swirling through the trees. Sun arrived on the scene moments later to find Corsac Albain standing over Ilia as she scrambled along the ground to move away from him. The man lacked his red robe, and beads of sweat trailed down his shaved head as he stepped over her.

"Where is it? I know one of you has it!" he demanded, before plunging his sizzling sai into Ilia's calf. Again, she screamed, and Sun threw himself into Corsac's back a mere moment later. The two tumbled to the ground, and Sun earned a hard palm strike to the face for his efforts as they rolled into a grapple. Sun managed to remain on top as he rained blows down on Corsac, the familiar feeling of unbridled anger gripping his chest once again.

"Don't _touch_ her! Get away from her!" Sun demanded as he landed a punch into Corsac's jaw. Corsac spit upward into Sun's face, before thrusting his sai for the boy's neck. Sun narrowly avoided the move by jerking his head to the side, and grabbed at the central point. His hand shook as he held the weapon in place and drove his other, armored fist into Corsac's gut. The older faunus sputtered, but continued to fight against Sun's grip.

" _You_ have it, don't you? My brother's weapon!" Corsac snarled.

"Yeah, I do! I'll make sure I bury it with yours, after I break your _neck!_ " Sun yelled. A thin trail of smoke began to rise from the red gauntlet on his right hand, followed by a shooting pain. He quickly let go of the sai and stood to backpedal away, only to find that his electrical burn from Ilia featured a fresh red line of burnt flesh across it. He shook out his hand as he cried out in pain, and Corsac rolled backward to stand.

"You'll find it more difficult than you'd imagine," Corsac warned. He pressed the insignia at the base of the sai's prongs, and the bottom of the hilt began to glow a deep purple. Fennec's sai rocketed up through the leaf litter and sped through the trees from a place unseen, before it snapped to the base of Corsac's weapon to form a double-sided fork.

Sun gripped his burnt hand to his chest as he looked over to Ilia. Throughout the confrontation, she had begun to crawl her way toward her fallen weapon, and the whip was within arm's length. Corsac followed Sun's gaze as she reached for the electrical whip, and he whirled to face the injured girl.

"…I think _not_."

Sun sprinted for Corsac, but was too slow as he whirled his combined weapon. Spiraling jets of fire and wind rushed forward and engulfed a nearby tree, before he used another gust to pull the fragile plant down upon Ilia. She reached her weapon and rolled to point it at Corsac, only for the burning wood to crash down upon her chest and shoulder, pinning her to the forest floor as the electrical whip flew from her hand once again. Ilia's form disappeared as flaming leaves, dirt, and debris shot upward from the impact of the tree, and Sun stopped in mid-stride at the sight.

Corsac turned slowly and quietly back toward Sun, to look him over. The boy was bleeding slowly from his hairline, his shirt was torn in several places, a nasty, dark red stain had bled through the fabric on his side, his nose was clearly broken, his arms and cheeks were caked with dirt, and only fresh tears had cut through the filth caked onto his face. Sun trembled as he looked at the fallen tree in disbelief, before speaking in a small, hollow voice.

"I… am going to kill you," he said simply as he brought his eyes up to meet Corsac's. The fire continued to spread through the branches and along the ground, surrounding the two in what was quickly becoming a ring of fire.

"I'm going to kill you, and I'm going to _enjoy_ it," Sun repeated with more aggression in his voice. "I don't care who knows. I don't care who sees what's left of you when I'm done," he continued as his volume continued to rise.

Frenzied yelling from elsewhere in the forest joined the chorus of burning wood and rustling trees. Sun kept his focus on Corsac, while Corsac himself began to look almost worried. As Sun took a single step forward, Corsac brought down another flaming tree between them, and turned to run deeper into the forest. Sun moved to try to pursue, only to be blocked by the new obstacle. He cursed, before leaping the log and watching Corsac disappear into the smoke and foliage.

"Ilia!" Sun cried as he adjusted his course to the other fallen tree. "Ilia, talk to me!"

Sun collapsed his weapon and stored it in a belt loop as he bent and tried to heft the massive tree. Getting nowhere, he engaged his semblance once again and made a final push with his three copies to shift the obstruction and toss it off to the side, away from Ilia. Beneath it, the girl was still and silent. Her eyes were closed, and her left arm was bent at an unnatural angle. A long trail of blood started at her neck and went all the way down the other arm, and much of her exposed flesh was covered in burns, cuts, and bruises.

"No, don't do this to me," Sun whispered as panic began to set in. "Ilia, come on, please…"

Sun shuffled out of his ruined gauntlet and let it fall to the ground, before putting the back of his hand a few inches away from Ilia's nose. The tiniest rush of relief pulsed through him as he felt steady, shallow breaths against his dirty flesh, and he reached for the zipper just beneath her neck. He pulled open the top part of her bodysuit and rested his ear against her chest, only to find what appeared to be a normal heartbeat.

Somehow, the consistent pulsing sent Sun over the edge, and he closed his eyes tightly as he gently gripped her hand. He wanted to just cuddle up on the forest floor next to her and wail, but resisted the temptation. Instead, he grabbed his scroll from his pocket, and called Blake. Two rings later, he received an answer.

" _Sun? Sun! Everything's secure inside of Haven! We're alright in here, how a-"_

"I-Ilia's hurt," Sun stammered. He sniffled, and wiped his nose on the collar of his shirt. "Ilia's hurt really bad, and I'm… we need to get her to a hospital. Meet me at the edge of the forest, by the school. I… Blake, I can't do this anymore. I'm starting to lose it…"

 _"Sun, I'm coming, right now! Hang in there! We can make it through this to-"_

Sun closed his eyes once again as he ended the call, and returned his scroll to his pocket. He scooped Ilia's limp form into a bridal carry and began to jog through the woods, his mind racing as the sounds of the crackling fire echoed around him.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

So ends Volume 5. The transition into 6 that was glossed over in canon will _definitely_ be covered, though the biggest deviations from canon are about to start right here, and not stop anytime soon.

Next update on Tuesday.

 **-RD**


	47. Wounds New and Old

The slow, rhythmic ticking of the second hand on the wall clock was the only noise that dared to break the silence in the hospital room as Sun and Blake waited together quietly. The pair sat next to each other in chairs against the wall, while Blake leaned her head to rest upon Sun's shoulder. Both of them watched Ilia, who lay prone on the bed before them, with mixed emotions. Her left arm had been put into a cast, an I.V. was hooked up to the back of her opposite hand, and an oxygen mask covered most of her face as she slept.

Blake shifted slightly as she took Sun's undamaged hand in her own.

"Do you… want to talk, yet? You didn't sound good, when you called."

The corner of Sun's mouth twitched slightly as he kept his focus on Ilia and the numbers on the monitor beside the bed.

"…no. There's no point, yet. It's just going to get worse, and I have a lot I need to do."

Blake frowned, and traced the hand upward from Sun's lap and onto his bare chest.

"Sun… waiting for the ideal moment is just going to make you more frustrated. I'm _here_ for you, and I want to know what happened in the forest… but I'm also not going to force you, if you're not ready," Blake finished with a sigh.

"I'm not," Sun replied. "I… have to slow down and get my thoughts in order, so things don't… come out wrong. That, and like I said, there's a lot to be done. I want to talk to Team RWBY together, I need to go and see Sage, and we need to figure things out with Kali in terms of where to go from here."

Blake took a deep breath as she stood, and folded her arms. "I have no idea what's going on with my team. It has something to do with a relic, or… _relics_ , and it looks like things are a lot more complicated than we thought. When you're ready, we'll go together and discuss it with them."

Sun looked up at Blake with heavy, bloodshot eyes, and spoke in a deadpan voice. "When I said 'together', I meant you, me, Ilia, and Neptune. I'm not going anywhere until Ilia wakes up and I know she's okay."

"It's been a _day_ , Sun. She's going to need time, based on what the doctors said, and it's time we might not have. Mom will watch her while we meet with RWBY, after she's done dealing with Claw affairs. I've talked to my team a _little_ , but not enough to really get any details. There's… also the problem with Yang…" Blake explained as she began to pace.

"Fuck Yang," Sun said almost immediately. Blake gave him a worried look, but didn't bother to protest. Sun ran his hands through his hair as he rested his elbows upon his knees and stared down at the floor. The strands had become greasy, wild, and dirty over time to the point of feeling totally unfamiliar.

"…time we don't have," Sun mumbled after an uncomfortable silence. "What, you want to _leave_ Ilia here, and just go off with the others?"

"No!" Blake shot back without hesitation. "No, we're… we're not going to leave Ilia behind. We all have things that need to get done before RWBY and JNR make their next move, and I'm not letting them leave before we're ready, _or_ without us in tow. That being said, we need to keep communication open. We can't just hole up in here and expect them to wait on us without knowing what's happening."

Sun's expression pulled into a frown.

"…whatever. Just… whatever. I don't know what to do. I'm… _scared,_ Blake. I don't say that lightly."

Blake's ears collapsed as her face fell. "What are you scared of…?"

Sun took a while to reply, though Blake waited patiently. "Everything. The future, Ilia not waking up… _myself_. From what little you've told me about what happened inside of Haven, it seems like there are things bigger than us in play, and I don't know if w-"

" _Stop_ ," Blake interjected. She walked over to Sun and knelt, before taking both of his hands in her own. "Even if this isn't going to be 'us talking', I want you to listen to one, simple thing. Sun, there is _nothing_ bigger than us. Period. I love you, and no matter what's going on inside that head of yours, that fact isn't going to change. I'm not going anywhere without you, and _we_ come first, now. I need you, and you need me. Without that as our foundation, we have _nothing_."

Sun raised his weary eyes to meet Blake's, and had trouble fighting back a small smile. A light fluttering sensation broke through the weighty hopelessness in his chest, and for the first time in a while, he felt something other than despair.

"…you're my world, Blake. I'll be ready soon, but… I need time. If she's not awake by tomorrow, we'll work something out, okay? You know I won't be able to rest or focus on anything else while this is still fresh. It's just... how I am," Sun finished.

"I know, and I love that about you. You _care_ , more intensely than anyone else I've ever met." Blake leaned forward and cupped Sun's cheek as she gave him a soft, tender kiss. "Do you want some time alone? I can go and check in on Mom, and I'll understand if you do."

Sun's eyes flicked downward, before rising again to meet Blake's.

"…I think I do, yeah. Sorry."

Blake shook her head, and gave Sun one more kiss before standing. "Don't be sorry. I've been there, and you did the same for me. Just… try to rest, soon? Please? You really need to shower, eat, and get some sleep. It's been almost a full day, and the night before that, we were still in Kuo Kuana…"

"I don't understand how you've slept at all," Sun offered as he leaned back into the chair.

"I just lay back, close my eyes, and think about you," Blake said as she made her way to the door. "I'll be back tonight, and I want to see you showered and changed, at _least_. Start taking care of yourself again, before I do it for you."

Sun shook his head, and stood from his chair.

"…alright."

"Thank you. Call me if anything changes," Blake said before giving Sun a small wave and slipping out of the room.

Sun looked up at the clock once again as the ticking filled the void left by Blake's absence. He let out an annoyed groan and cracked his neck before walking slowly to the bathroom inside of Ilia's suite. Sun flicked on the lights as he entered the room, closed and locked the door, and then walked up to the mirror to look himself over.

The faunus staring back was different enough from what Sun expected to see that he found himself surprised by his own reflection. A thick, padded bandage was taped firmly over his broken nose, and another bandage covered the wound at the base of his hairline. Short, visible patches of stubble had formed a light chinstrap around his jawline, and his hair looked even worse than he had imagined it might. Dark circles marred the flesh under his eyes, and the whites themselves were almost pink with bloodshot veins.

Sun bit his lip and looked down as he braced his hands along the rim of the sink, both embarrassed and worried by the sight. He licked his lips and found them uncomfortably chapped and dry, before shaking his head.

"Blake's right. Not that that's unusual," he mumbled to himself. " _And_ I need a new shirt. Again."

Sun busied himself with undoing the clasp of Ghira's belt, and then let his dirty cargo shorts fall to the floor. He halfheartedly removed his boxers and kicked them off as well, before rolling his socks off his feet and into a messy ball. Slowly and carefully, he peeled the large bandage off his side and threw it in the trashcan, before checking himself over in the mirror once again from a distance. A nasty cut was in the process of healing along the right side of his torso, and he could feel the painful reminder of Adam's blade every time he twisted and moved.

Though he felt compelled to look his body over more closely for other damage, Sun tore his gaze from the glass and pulled back the shower door before gathering up the various bottles and cloths to take care of himself. With one last, heavy sigh, he turned the water on and got to work.

* * *

Sun was in the process of drying off one of his legs when he heard the creak of the door to Ilia's room. Whoever had entered was careful to close it slowly, before speaking in a small voice that Sun could barely hear through the bathroom door.

" _Hello? Sun…?"_

Somehow, the voice seemed both familiar and not, as though he hadn't heard it in a very long time. Sun wracked his brain to try to figure out who it belonged to, before he gave up entirely as he came up with nothing but fog and thoughts of how badly he just wanted to sleep. Sun hastened his efforts at drying himself before wrapping the towel around his waist as a makeshift skirt and heading for the door. He unlocked the portal and gave the knob a twist, before stepping into Ilia's room proper and finding the intruder standing over her bed.

Weiss Schnee turned to look at Sun, and seemed surprised by his appearance. She wore a muted grey dress that faded to an ombre of white trim along the bottom, along with her signature hair ornament and heels. In her hands was a cardboard coffee carrier with two styrofoam cups.

"Sun? Are you… _alright?_ Do you need help with your bandages…?" Weiss asked, her voice incredibly tense and lacking all the confidence that Sun had come to expect from her. He hiked a brow in response, and shook his head.

"…I look that bad, huh? I'm… good. Well, as good as I'm gonna get, right now. It's nice to see you, Weiss," Sun offered with a small smile. Though it was all he could muster, the genuine warmth intended carried through the gesture. Weiss tried to return it, but found herself unable to manage.

"Is it?" she asked, as she slowly approached him.

"What do you mean? Of course it is," Sun replied, confused.

It was Weiss' turned to look at the floor as she closed the distance between them. "I just… wasn't very pleasant to you, at Beacon. That's actually one of the many reasons I'm here- to apologize. Formally," she added as she looked back up at Sun. His brow only climbed higher as he looked her over, and shook his head.

"Weiss… I've been stabbed, slashed, burned with both fire _and_ electricity, used as a hostage, emotionally manipulated, lied to, had my scroll stolen, and seen two people I think of as family get hurt in the last two months. That's about the _last_ thing on my mind, and really not a big deal. We're cool."

Weiss sighed heavily in reply, and her tone regained a bit of its conviction. "Even so, that doesn't make it _right_. I was… incredibly ignorant. Shamefully so. You and Blake helped to open my eyes, as well as… other, more recent things. So, please, consider this the start of a new chapter between us. I'd like to try again."

Sun found himself growing frustrated as Weiss spoke, and took a few deep breaths as he reminded himself that she meant well. "Yeah, sure. That'd be good. I could use all the friends I can get, right now."

"It certainly seems like it," Weiss replied. "I… brought you coffee? I have no idea if you drink it, but Neptune told me you've been standing vigil here for going on 24 hours, with no intent to stop. It was the least I could do to try to help."

Sun watched with curiosity as Weiss pulled one of the sytrofoam containers from the carrier and offered it to him. For whatever reason, Sun tried his best to accept the gift in a natural way that seemed fitting of someone who did indeed appreciate coffee, instead of a faunus who had never touched it in his life.

"…thanks. I could definitely use it, right about now. I'm not sure if I could fall asleep on the spot, or if I'll never sleep again, at this point."

"I know the feeling," Weiss offered as she took her own cup and deposited the carrier upon a nearby table. "I could watch her for a few hours, if you'd like to try to get some sleep?"

Sun let his gaze drift once again to Ilia as he took a long, slow sip. The steaming liquid did serve to wake him up a bit, though he utterly hated the taste.

"…no. I need to be here. I need to make sure she's okay."

"Ilia, is it?" Weiss asked. Sun nodded slowly, and looked back to Weiss. "Tell me about her?"

Sun took another long sip, and moved to sit back in his usual chair. He pulled gently at the towel around his legs to make sure that he was fully covered, as Weiss looked away with a small blush.

"She's… my little sis. Not by blood, or anything, but… I'd do anything for her. Ilia's one of Blake's old friends, but they had a huge falling out when Blake left the Fang. We were on opposite sides for a while, but once I got to know her… we got close. I don't know if that answers your question, but it's all true."

"It tells me exactly what I wanted to know," Weiss said as she walked over to sit in Blake's former seat. "Have you heard anything, yet? From the doctors, I mean."

Sun licked his lips once again, grateful for the moisture provided by the shower and the coffee. "A flaming tree fell on top of her, and she's… not exactly huge. It broke a few ribs, her left arm, and she's got a few burns. She should wake up within the next few days, but the internal damage… I mean, aura can only work so fast, and they're pumping her full of drugs."

Weiss hesitated for a moment, and brought her cup to her lips.

"…Jaune unlocked his semblance. He can amplify aura, and maybe speed up the healing process. He did it for me."

Suddenly, Sun felt much more awake. "He can? And… he did? What happened?"

Weiss scooted back in her seat just a bit to show off a section of the side of her dress that had been sewn back together.

"Cinder happened. I took a glass javelin to the side. If Jaune hadn't been there, _I_ wouldn't be _here_."

Sun looked over at Ilia once again, and gripped his cup a little tighter as his blood began to boil.

"We're… just _teens_."

"I'm sorry?" Weiss asked.

"Why are we dealing with this? Why are _we_ getting hurt, and suffering, and throwing ourselves into all of this? You never should have gone th-"

Sun tensed as he felt a frigid hand grip his forearm. The sensation was almost familiar, though the flesh was even colder than Blake's.

"Because that's the _job_. That's who we are, as huntsmen and huntresses. The fact that we're still standing, and _Haven_ is still standing, means we're doing it well. You, especially, were built for this. Though we haven't gotten to talk much just yet, everything Blake's told me about you leads me to believe that I was completely wrong in my first impression. You're the kind of man that everyone else on Remnant is lucky to have protecting them. I _pray_ that I can be as selfless, genuine, and passionate as you, someday. Don't let these setbacks get you down, Sun."

Sun jumped slightly as a soft knock came at the door. He and Weiss exchanged looks, before Sun made a move to get up. Weiss forcefully transferred her hand to his shoulder, and gave him a stern look.

" _You_ are hurt. Allow me."

Weiss stood and made a quick gesture to realign her ponytail before walking briskly toward the door. With practiced grace, she pulled back on the knob and stepped aside to look over their visitor.

"…I… hello. May I help you?"

The confusion clear in Weiss' tone caused Sun to get up, and pins and needles took hold of his neck and back as he recognized the voice of the visitor.

" _Weiss Schnee…_ of all the people to be here, right now…"

Weiss offered an unsure curtsey, and looked briefly to Sun.

"I'm sorry, do I know you…?"

Cinnamon's eyes blazed with fury as she looked down at the smaller woman and stepped past her, into the room.

"You _will_."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

No, there _can't_ be a second of downtime without something going to shit. That's just now how Sun's life works.

One quick hit from the reviews- in terms of Blake's arc, _this_ one might be drawing to a close... but she's about to get another really, really quickly, as will some other characters. Details on that will start to come to light next chapter. If it seems like things are starting to get too big to wrap up by the end of Volume 6... _good_. There's a reason for that, and we'll get there eventually.

Next update on Friday.

 **-RD**


	48. A Pound of Flesh

Blake walked up to the concierge standing behind the podium in the lobby with a nervous smile. She was still in Sun's shirt and her usual pants and boots, though for once, she was unarmed. The lack of weapon somewhat unnerved her, but carrying Gambol Shroud into such a high-class hotel seemed like a bad move for all involved.

"Excuse me… I'm meeting someone here. Belladonna?"

"…I see. That would make you the second person to join her today," the attendant replied. He was a tall, lanky man with a bad comb-over and expensive suit, befitting most of the clientele. He looked Blake over with a judgmental eye, before sniffing softly and turning to begin a hasty walk. "This way."

Blake kept her eyes on the ground as she made her way through the restaurant on the bottom floor of the massive building. Despite her efforts to pay them no mind, she could feel the eyes of several other patrons on her as she and her escort made their way across the main dining room. Whether they stared because she was underdressed, a faunus, or both was unclear, but Blake found herself incredibly uncomfortable regardless.

"Just outside. I trust you can find your way from here?" the man asked as he held open a glass door leading to the patio.

"Yes. Thank you," Blake replied hastily before stepping out onto the wood. Her stomach dropped as she realized that the outdoor seating provided not only a view of the front of Haven Academy, but the forest on its east side. What few trees remained were blackened husks, while the closest part of the woods had been eaten away entirely by greedy flames. She could almost see to the clearing where Sun and Adam had fought, though something else caught her eye.

Several members of the Mistrali police patrolled the edge of the forest, while other people in medical scrubs were wheeling stretchers in and out among the fallen trees. Bodies covered in sheets had been lined up on the lawn outside of the Academy, and Blake managed to count twelve, with more coming.

"…horrible, isn't it?"

Blake looked to her left to find her mother sitting alone at a table for two near the railing, nursing a cup of coffee in her hands.

"It… reminds me of Beacon. Well, it doesn't _remind_ me of Beacon, but I imagine this is what it looked like the day after, only… _worse_. I didn't stay long enough to see the cleanup efforts. It's making me feel horrible, for those reasons and more," Blake replied as she sat down across from Kali.

Kali looked Blake over with an unreadable expression. "No one blames you for your actions, as far as I can s-"

"Yang does," Blake interrupted. Kali blew off the surface of her drink as she looked her daughter over for a moment, and then took a small sip.

"…so, she was just holding it in, when you introduced me."

" _Yeah_ ," Blake replied incredulously. "She's furious, but keeping it below the surface, for now. I'm scared of what's going to happen when it boils over… and it's made worse by the fact that she's _right_. She lost more at Beacon than anyone else on our team, and she didn't run. _I_ did."

Blake folded her hands in her lap as her ears drooped, and Kali let out a sigh heavy enough for both of them.

"Honey… you're not wrong. I _wish_ I was right, and that I could comfort you with what you want to hear, but… this is something you'll have to face head-on. I'd suggest you face it together with Sun… once he's in the right mindset. Is he any better, yet?"

Blake pulled a face, and looked back out to the Academy grounds. Another body was being wheeled to join the others, while a man with a scroll was making notes beside it.

"…a little. He promised me he would shower today."

"Thank the gods above," Kali said with a smirk. "He's hot as hell, but he _stinks_ , lately."

Blake couldn't help but smile slightly as she looked back over to her mother. "Yes. Yes, he does. I'm headed out to buy us both some new clothes, after this. Unless you need me here, to help with the Black Claw."

Kali leaned back in her chair and grimaced. "The Black Claw is… not going to come together overnight, sweetie. Not like I _want_ it to, anyway. I met with the Mistrali chief of police about an hour ago, and I told him what I'm thinking. He's honestly not thrilled at having _another_ resistance group of faunus out there, but… we're going to work through it, and do this right. I want our people officially recognized, and _peaceful_ agents of change. Except, of course, when it comes to the White Fang."

"…and what's the plan with the White Fang?" Blake asked, her shoulders tensing.

"They disband, or join us. Otherwise, the Black Claw _hunts_ the White Fang," Kali replied coolly. "At least, that's what I think may end up happening, if Cinnamon isn't willing to play ball."

Blake felt her stomach grow cold as a waiter approached the table. She briefly spared the man a glance, and shook her head. "Nothing for me, thanks." He departed quickly, and Blake waited for him to reenter the building before leaning across the table and nearly hissing at her mother as her ears flattened back against her skull.

"You're going to _hunt_ them? You can't be serious!"

Kali's expression hardened as she narrowed her eyes. "The White Fang are holding us back as a species. Adam is still out there, Corsac is potentially with him, and Cinnamon… we _cannot_ trust her to keep her word, or cooperate."

Blake leaned back and fidgeted, looking incredibly uncomfortable. "I… you don't know that, Mom. Ilia seems to trust her with her _life_."

"And do _you?_ " Kali questioned as she gave her daughter a pointed look.

Blake ground her teeth as she thought through her answer. "I… I don't know. I've seen friends become enemies, and enemies become friends. I've seen people I shared a room with for almost a year _hate_ me after reuniting, and I've seen Adam… turn into what he is now. I'm not ready to trust Cinnamon yet, but I'm also not ready to assume she's just going to be the next Adam, either."

"I feel much the same way, but I'm leaning toward no mercy. Not after these people took your father from us," Kali said. "I'd like to believe she'll work with us, and I _am_ going to meet with her and see if we can get somewhere… but I don't have the energy left to get stuck in a deadlock for weeks, months, or years. I want justice. I want _vengeance_."

"So do I," Blake replied with a frustrated tone as she weaved her fingers into her hair. "But we have to be reasonable. We _have_ to stay strong, and be the better half of this equation. Otherwise… this is all going to be seen as infighting, and just another justification for humanity to see us as animals."

Kali huffed, and drained her cup. "As if they have a leg to stand on, when it comes to civil war. Look, I _want_ to approach this with some optimism, but… I'm just not seeing it. Not after everything we've been through. Give me one reason to go in with an open mind. _Please_."

Blake twisted her face into several expressions as she wracked her brain, and tried to find something positive. All at once, a thought came to her, and she raised her eyes back to her mother's.

"…the bombs. She really _did_ help Ilia disable the bombs. If it wasn't for Cinnamon keeping her word, we would _all_ be dead right now."

Kali made an amused noise as she crossed her legs beneath the table. "…huh. I guess in all of the confusion, tension, and lack of sleep, the most obvious thing eluded me." Slowly, her expression changed into something far more neutral.

"It almost slipped my mind, as well," Blake admitted as she folded her arms. "So, there. One point in her favor, and it's a pretty big one. We can work this out. We'll meet her, soon, and try to figure out what's best for the faunus."

"Yes, we will," Kali agreed. "I lifted her number from Fennec's scroll, while on board the plane. I'll give her a call in the coming days, and… we'll see what _deal_ she's thinking of. I guess we owe her that, at least."

"Yeah. Yeah, we do," Blake agreed.

Kali rested her elbow upon the table, and cupped her chin. "Let's just hope she's feeling reasonable."

* * *

Sun and Weiss both remained silent, unsure what to say as Cinnamon slowly approached Ilia's bed. She had a bouquet of purple flowers cradled in her arms, and set them down carefully upon the bedside table before kneeling low next to the bed itself. Her expression softened to one of concern as she reached out and took Ilia's free hand in her own and looked over the I.V. with a sigh. Finally, she ran a gentle hand through Ilia's hair, before standing once again and looking over to Sun.

"…so. Tell me everything."

Sun's face fell as he turned to face Cinnamon and began to collect his thoughts. He put a hand up to the side of his face and rubbed as he tried to figure out where to begin, only for Weiss to interrupt in a small voice.

"…excuse me, but… would you like for me to leave? It seems as though I've upset you in some w-"

" _No_ ," Cinnamon said threateningly. Sun looked back and forth between the two women as he dropped his hand, and opened his mouth to say something. Cinnamon reached a hand up and gripped his shoulder before he could start, and narrowed her eyes as she shot Weiss a venomous look.

"No, I think you should _stay_. What you hear today is something I want you to keep in mind for the future. Out of respect for Ilia, I'll keep my voice _low_ , and most of what's on my mind silent… but you're not getting away from me that easily, _Schnee_. As for how you've 'upset' me? I think you _might_ be smart enough to figure out the gist of it," Cinnamon spat as she flexed her spines.

Weiss folded her arms and sat as far away from Cinnamon as she could. Sun looked over to the dark hand upon his shoulder, before turning his gaze to Weiss.

"…this is… Cinnamon Shoal. She's… second in command, among the White Fang. I know that sounds bad, but she actually helped us out a lot, against Adam."

" _First_ in command," Cinnamon corrected as she lifted her hand and crossed her arms. She began a staredown with Weiss from across the room, and the younger girl finally found her voice.

"Out of respect for your friend, and in _hopes_ that you're more like Blake than Adam Taurus… I'm going to keep my thoughts about that to myself, until I know more," Weiss said carefully. "For now, though, the conflict between us isn't the priority. What exactly would you like me to know, Miss Shoal?"

Cinnamon sneered at Weiss, before nodding her head to Sun. "I suppose the report can wait, if we're going down this road right now. Why don't you tell your friend about your duel with Adam? Or what he's done to you, and what he _wants_ to do to her? Or what he _wears_ , and why?"

Sun shot Cinnamon an angry look, before taking a deep breath and shaking his head. Finally, he looked over to Weiss, who seemed incredibly confused.

"Weiss… I'm sorry, but someone's gonna tell you, and it's probably better to hear it from me than her. Adam… he's got a brand. A Schnee Dust Company brand, across his left eye. I don't know the specifics, but I do know that he wants to kill _you_ , specifically, because of it. I was gonna pull you aside later, b-"

" _Stop_ ," Weiss demanded. Her face was as pale as a sheet, and she stared at the linoleum floor in horror. "He has a _brand?_ A brand from my father's company?"

"Like cattle," Cinnamon confirmed as she glared daggers at Weiss. "Are you shocked? Or merely upset that someone's holding a mirror to you?"

Weiss' chest heaved several times before she stood up suddenly and made her way to the bathroom door. Her heels clacked heavily against the floor before she slammed the door shut behind herself, and muffled noises of vomiting echoed throughout the room.

Sun fumed as he looked up at Cinnamon. "You had _no_ reason to start this now."

"I have _every_ reason," Cinnamon hissed. "If anything, you should count yourself lucky that she and I are meeting _here_ , and not somewhere more public. I am well aware that _she_ is a member of Blake's team, and that means she and I are going to be in proximity, now and again. I refuse to even entertain the idea of working alongside her, unless she denounces her family and what they've done. Adam may be a monster, but he's a monster of her family's creation."

Sun tried and failed to find a response, and instead settled for rubbing the back of his neck. Without a word, he turned away from Cinnamon and padded across the room to the bathroom door. He opened it gently, and peered inside to find Weiss kneeling on the floor over the toilet, he arms shakily supporting her as she spit into the bowl. Sun closed the door behind himself and slowly approached, while speaking in a soft voice.

"It's just me. Let me help you."

Weiss said nothing as Sun gently put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back from the toilet. Her eyeliner had begun to run down her face in messy streaks, and her complexion was still worryingly pale. Sun reached out and flushed the toilet to get rid of her sickness, before guiding her to stand up.

"…a-after Beacon, I was taken back home," Weiss said with a sniffle as she gripped the sides of the sink. "I always knew that my father was… less than a kind man, especially to the faunus, but _this_ … along with everything I saw at the mansion, upon returning to Atlas…"

"You were a _kid_ , Weiss," Sun said as he offered her a washcloth. She took it, and began to work at cleaning up her face. "There was nothing you could have done back then, even if you'd known. There's still nothing you can do, right now. Not alone. Getting the truth out there and making your dad own up to everything he's done isn't a job for one person, and it's going to have to wait. We have bigger things to worry about right n-"

"Isn't that always the way it is, with the faunus?" Weiss asked. "You are _always_ on the back burner. Always a second thought, always next in line, and never served. That woman has every right to be furious with me. How can I even face her, knowing what you've just told me?"

Sun rubbed at Weiss' back in slow circles, and frowned as a few choice memories of the orphanage floated through his mind. "…it doesn't help that she's… _manipulative_ , to say the least, and holding things back. She's Adam's girlfriend. Or, _was_ Adam's girlfriend."

Weiss' grip on the sink tightened as she took in the information and used her other hand to bury her face in the washcloth as she mumbled through it. " _Fantastic_. I need to leave. I can't even look at her right now."

"And give her more reasons to hate you? She's putting _me_ in a really uncomfortable position too, you know," Sun added. "She wants to do this _now_ , so I guess we're doing it now. I don't know what to tell you, and I honestly feel like I'm going to pass out for any number of reasons. Let's just go back out there, and do what you do best. Face it with dignity. Own up to it. I mean, the situation can't get _worse_ , unless she starts throwing punches."

Weiss dropped the cloth into the sink with a noise of disgust. "What a lovely thought. But… you're right. Nothing's ever easy, is it?"

Without another word, Weiss turned and made her way for the door before opening it and heading back into the main room. Sun took the moment to drop his towel and pull his boxers, shorts, socks, and shoes back on, before following her inside. Weiss waited for him while staring out the window, her back turned to Ilia and Cinnamon.

"Feeling any better, _princess?_ " Cinnamon said with a growl as Sun reentered the room.

Weiss slowly turned and made her way over to the much larger woman, before looking up at her.

"…no. No, not at all. I'm going to be completely honest with you- I don't know what to say. I don't think there's anything _to_ say, other than to offer an apology for my family's…" Weiss paused, trying her best to find a suitable way to describe it. "… _existence_ , at this point."

Cinnamon raised a brow, though her expression of anger didn't change. "That's a _start_."

Weiss folded her arms across her chest once again as she tried her best not to fidget under Cinnamon's intimidating gaze. "If there is… _anything_ I can do personally to even begin to redeem myself in your eyes, or help you, please let me know."

Without hesitation, Cinnamon drew her scroll from within her sarong. "…give me your contact information. I'll be calling in a favor, later on. We'll consider that the _beginning_ of your penance."

Sun watched with unease as Weiss took out her own scroll and touched it to Cinnamon's to initiate the data transfer.

"Of course. Miss Shoal, I really wish I could do more for you. If it was up to me, I'd dismantle the Dust Company entirely, right now, or give it over to the faunus, or…"

"Pretty words, but anyone can offer endless apologies and grandiose promises when it'll save their skin. I want _action_ , and it seems to me, based on what I overheard from the bathroom, like there are other things that take priority over my entire race. _Our_ entire race, Sun," Cinnamon added as she gave him a pointed look.

Sun looked up at the ceiling as he sucked in a breath. "Cinnamon, that's _not_ fair. There are bigger things going on here th-"

"Oh, stop throwing that bullshit line around. Since when was this _ever_ about fairness? Look at who I'm talking to, right now," Cinnamon shot back. Weiss looked off to the side as she pocketed her scroll once again, and moved to return to her seat on the other side of the room. "If you want to talk _fair_ , then I think Weiss ought to tell us what exactly is _so_ much more important than our people. Or is that an unreasonable request, for someone currently planning to hold out on us?"

Sun looked back and forth between the two women as Weiss shot Cinnamon a look of disbelief and shook her head.

"I can't just… there is _very_ sensitive information that I can't just give to you, without approval from my team, or Professor Ozpin, or…"

"Professor Ozpin?" Sun asked, surprised. "Professor Ozpin's _dead_. I mean… isn't he…?"

Weiss looked about ready to have a panic attack as she turned her head away from Sun. Cinnamon smirked devilishly.

"…well, if _that_ reaction is anything to go by, apparently not. What else is Team RWBY… or is it, Team _RWY_ hiding from us? Hm?"

Sun looked at Weiss with disappointment as he moved to sit in the chair beside her. "Blake said you guys haven't really told her anything, yet. _Are_ you going to tell her?"

Weiss remained silent for a long time, before turning to face Sun with a pained expression. "That decision isn't up to me. I _want_ to tell her. I want to tell you, too, but it's just…"

" _We_ are _owed_ ," Cinnamon threatened as she began to approach the seated teens. "And if you _really_ think you're justified in keeping us out of the loop, then let me offer you a trade- Adam wants your head. _I_ have no love left to give for that bastard, but he doesn't know it, yet. I can locate him, and I know what his next move is. Tell us what's going on, and I'll call him off, lead him on a wild goose chase, and get him safely behind bars. Hold out on us… and you're on your own. So is your _family_."

It was Weiss' turn to offer a look of hatred as Cinnamon crouched down to sneer at her level. Sun tensed horribly as he looked between the two women, and put a hand on Weiss' shoulder. Anger and frustration began to boil over inside of him, drowning out what compassion he had left as Weiss looked over at him.

"…Weiss. Tell us what's going on. You _know_ it isn't right to keep us in the dark."

Weiss bit her lip as a last defense. "Sun, can we _really_ trust her enough t-"

Sun tightened his grip upon Weiss' shoulder, and earned a pained yelp from the smaller girl.

" _Yes_ , we can… and I'm getting tired of _all_ of this. Make things easy, and fill us in now. Otherwise, you're just making things even worse."

Weiss struggled slightly in Sun's grip, before finally letting out a sigh of defeat.

"… _fine_."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

It's great to see the positive response to the cast in this story expanding as Sun, Ilia, and Neptune rejoin the canon crew. It's tricky to balance the others without making it feel like 'here is Weiss' scene, next comes the Yang chapter, and then Sun will talk to Ruby' and so on, but I'll do what I can to make it work out. Some things **will** be glossed over in terms of canon events, as the main focus will always be Sun, Blake, Ilia, and now, Neptune. It sucks being chained to canon events for volumes 1-3 since this started in 4, but that was more an oversight that I didn't foresee when this story began, since it was originally a much shorter project. The one coming after this story concludes will fix that problem.

Next update on Monday.

 **-RD**


	49. The Inevitable Result

Sun relaxed his grip from Weiss' shoulder, and leaned back in his chair.

"Trust me, alright? You just got done telling me how you were wrong about me from a first impression, before Cinnamon got here. Without her, we wouldn't have made it this far. There's more to it, but that's the truth."

"That's one way of putting it," Cinnamon agreed as she stood to her full height once again. She took up position leaning against the wall next to the bathroom door, with one sandaled foot pressed flat against it.

"Alright, _alright_ ," Weiss said, with a hint of nervousness in her voice. "Just, _please_ , give me a little space, and let me think this through. There's a lot to cover, and… I'm going to need a bit of protection from the others, once it gets out that you're up to speed."

Cinnamon snorted as she shook her head. "And you call these others _friends?_ What 'protection' do you need, exactly? Aren't you an inseparable team, according to the news that came out during the Vytal festival?"

"Weiss, has it really gotten that bad?" Sun asked in a far gentler tone.

"No! It's… not Ruby, or even Yang, that I'm worried about. It's Professor Ozpin, and Ruby's uncle Qrow. I get the distinct impression that they're not going to appreciate adding more people onto our cadre of adventurers. It's already becoming a bit difficult to manage, as-is," Weiss admitted as she began to wring her hands in her lap.

"Well, if it's any consolation, _I_ won't be traveling with you," Cinnamon said with disdain. "I have my own affairs to attend to. I'll support whatever your endeavors may be from the sidelines, but the White Fang is my priority."

"Does JN-… do Jaune and the others know?" Sun asked.

"Yes, they're all well aware of what's going on. Did Blake mention the relics to you? I know she saw the relic of knowledge at Haven," Weiss replied.

Sun scratched his head. "Some weird gold and blue lamp looking thing, right? She mentioned it, but not what it does. So… what _does_ it do?"

"Well that, I… don't know, exactly," Weiss admitted as she shrugged her shoulders.

" _Convenient_ ," Cinnamon added helpfully. "What _do_ you know, that might be of use?"

Weiss shot Cinnamon an impotent glare, before continuing. "There are four relics- knowledge, creation, choice, and destruction. Each is protected by a vault within the four major academies, and each requires a maiden to unlock its potential. A maiden as in, spring, summer, winter, or fall, from the old fairy tale. Cinder is the fall maiden, and Yang's mother, Raven, is the spring maiden, who unlocked the vault at Haven to remove the relic of knowledge."

Sun couldn't help himself as Weiss finished speaking. " _Why?"_

"Why what?" Weiss replied.

"Why even remove it? If it's safe in the vault, and Cinder's after it, why even take the chance of bringing it out into the open?"

Cinnamon balked at Sun, and cut Weiss off before she could answer. "She likely didn't have a choice, given that she was at Haven to begin with. You don't know what these relics do, and now, your party has one in their possession. What's the plan?"

Weiss paused, and heaved a sigh. "That… is currently open for discussion. The only other thing I can tell you is that Professor Ozpin is, indeed, still alive… though likely not in the way you might think. A farmhand, Oscar Pine, found his way to Qrow not long ago. As it turns out, Professor Ozpin is capable of reincarnation, and he's living on through that boy."

Sun exchanged looks with Cinnamon, who seemed somewhat impressed for the first time since he'd met her. Slowly, Sun stood up, and walked his way over to the window.

"…you've got to be kidding me. Did I pass out and smash my head into something on the way to the floor?"

"If you did, then so did I," Cinnamon replied. "So, you're being led by an immortal professor, possess a presumably dangerous artifact with some sort of power, and you're dealing with legendary figures capable of casting actual magic, if these 'maidens' you're referring to are the ones I'm assuming they are. Anything else?"

"Yes, actually," Weiss offered. "Cinder may well be dead, Yang's mother has gone missing, and… Professor Ozpin has an enemy beyond just Cinder and her crew. There's apparently a woman named 'Salem' at the helm of it. She's capable of creating and controlling the forces of grimm, and will stop at nothing to get the relics into her possession."

Sun sneered as he turned and rested his palms on the window sill. "Oh, _minor_ details you left out, there."

"I'm _trying_ , alright?" Weiss whined as she, too, stood up. She folded her arms and glowered at Sun, as Cinnamon pushed off the wall and moved back to kneel beside Ilia.

"I think the bottom line, at this point, is that the situation has gotten incredibly serious, so long as these relics are in play. The two of you should sort your affairs and come up with a plan, alongside your teams, for dealing with the one in your possession. Once that's settled, bring me back into the picture, and we'll work out the steps from here. We don't have time to dawdle about, so get going, and make it happen."

Sun watched as Cinnamon picked up Ilia's hand again, and interlaced her fingers with those of her friend.

"And what are you going to do?"

"Simple. I'll keep watch over Ilia, while you and Weiss start making progress," Cinnamon answered. Weiss gave Sun a worried look, and he cast his own eyes down to the floor.

"But… I want to be here, when she wakes up."

Cinnamon rolled her eyes condescendingly. "Good for you. In case you haven't noticed, none of us have had a great track record for getting what we _want_ , lately. I'm offering you time to let you get your situation sorted, get some sleep, and refocus. All the preparation in the world isn't going to matter if you're practically a zombie, Sun, and the only difference I can see at the moment is that you're not yet literally rotting. Do you trust me, or not?"

Weiss chimed in with confidence, though Sun had a feeling it wasn't quite genuine.

" _I_ trust you. If Sun speaks highly of you, then I'll set aside my inclinations and assume he's making the right call. I'll send the leader of Team JNR over to help with the healing process."

Cinnamon paid her no attention at all as she looked over at Sun with a judgmental glare.

"…yeah. I do. Call me, as soon as anything changes. You can pull my info from Ilia's scroll, if you haven't already," Sun said. Cinnamon merely nodded, as Weiss gave her a small wave and made a hasty exit from the room. Sun lingered behind a moment, and approached Cinnamon.

"Something on your mind?" she asked, as she returned her gaze to Ilia.

"…I'm sorry that things keep getting tense, and shitty, and… just _bad_. I don't know how else to put it. Thanks for being here, and helping out," Sun finished awkwardly.

Cinnamon offered Sun a small smirk, before fixing him with a bewitching stare. "Just remember that, at the end of the day, it's _faunus_ who will look out for you. Humans have failed you time and again, in probably more ways than I know."

Sun furrowed his brows as he looked down at Ilia, motionless and silent in her hospital bed. "…but faunus did _this_. Faunus killed Ghira, and faunus planned to destroy Haven Academy right alongside the humans. This isn't a matter of race, Cinnamon. It's a matter of individuals."

Cinnamon fumed at the statement, and narrowed her eyes. "Then keep in mind which _individuals_ are worthy of your time, and trust. You might not like the answer, given the company you keep."

"Maybe not. I'll count you among the ones I can rely on, until you give me reason not to." Sun said nothing more as he turned and made a quick path through the room. He pushed his way through the door and closed it behind himself before turning to Weiss, who stood waiting with a look of unease on her features.

"Sun…"

"Weiss, I'm _really_ sorry you had to put up with that, just now… and I'm sorry if I got a little aggressive. I'm not feeling like myself at all," Sun offered sheepishly. Weiss gave him a frown, and shrugged her shoulders.

"…maybe a little, but I understand. You really _don't_ look good, Sun. Regardless, that woman is right about at least one thing- we need to get moving, and make progress… and _you_ need to get sleep, and probably some food. Why don't I round up Blake, bring her up to speed, and plan a meeting with the rest of our extended team while you get some rest?" Weiss proposed.

Sun mulled over the offer, before slowly shaking his head. "Yeah. Yeah, alright, that sounds good… but I've got one thing I need to take care of, before I turn in."

" _Sun…_ "

"One! Just one, I promise, and it'll be quick," Sun punctuated the statement by holding up one finger, before closing his hand into a fist. "After that, I'll find a place to get some sleep."

"I'll give you the address for the house we've been staying at, and you can rest in one of the upstairs bedrooms," Weiss replied. "But that 'one thing' had better be stress-free and fast, or Blake is going to have both of our heads."

Sun scratched the back of his neck. "It's… neither, but I'll handle it. It's gotta be me."

Weiss glared up at Sun, before walking forward and pulling him into a soft hug. Sun returned the gesture, as Weiss patted lightly at his back.

"No hard feelings, Sun. We're all a little stressed out, right now. Good luck, with whatever it is."

"Thanks," Sun replied. "I'm probably gonna need it."

Weiss offered a small wave as she retreated down the hallway. Sun watched her go, before removing his scroll from his shorts and tapping the screen a few times. He raised the device to his ear and let it ring, before the call connected.

"Hey, Neptune? What's the address of the place that you and the boys have been staying at?"

* * *

Sun shivered slightly as a cool breeze swirled around his shirtless chest. The frigid wind bit into the wound on his side a bit as he made his way up the small staircase, and found himself before a red door. Sun stared up at the dark green bricks of the massive apartment building, and shook his head. Several windows were boarded up on the upper floors, the stonework appeared misaligned and dirty, and the street outside smelled of rotting garbage.

" _Sun!_ " came a voice that interrupted his thoughts. He turned around to find Neptune running up the street and holding out a hand.

"Neptune? Really, man? I can handle this on my own…"

Neptune slowed to a stop and doubled over to catch his breath at the foot of the small steps. He raised a finger before bracing his hands on his knees to breathe for a few moments. Sun waited patiently, until Neptune stood straight and shook his head.

"Don't care. Sage has been _really_ uncool lately, and you're not at your best. I'm your wingman, guy, and this is a team thing. So, let's approach it as a team."

"A team of… _two?_ " Sun asked, curiously.

"…shut up! At least I'm here, alright?"

Sun rolled his eyes and made his way into the hallway. The entire area had a faint smell of mold about it, and he pinched his nose as he moved toward the staircase.

"This place _reeks_."

"Yeah, well, we did the best we could, alright? There are only so many two-man jobs Sage and I could find in town. We had something better for a while, but Scarlet really screwed us over," Neptune complained as the duo began making their way up the steps.

"Any idea why? Anything at all that might tell us where the hell he is?" Sun asked as he looked over his shoulder.

"None. He just said that we were 'holding him back' by waiting on you, and preventing him from taking jobs up to his standard. Dude's always had delusions of grandeur, but I didn't think they went _that_ far," Neptune recounted.

"…asshole," Sun accused. "He'll get what's coming to him, when I find him."

Neptune raised a brow as the two reached the second floor. "Uh, Sun? What do you mean? Why can't we just let it go, and move on with our lives?"

"I'm _done_ getting stepped on," Sun snarled as he whirled on Neptune. "Yeah, maybe I left, and maybe it was a little selfish, but Blake _needed_ me, alright!? I knew you three could look out for yourselves, and I knew she couldn't get on alone. I did what I had to do, in a shitty situation, to help out and protect one of my friends!"

"Whoa, _whoa!_ " Neptune replied as he raised his hands defensively. "Sun, I'm not accusing you of anything! Calm down, man! You're practically steaming, and it's… a little scary…"

Sun paused, and found his chest rising and falling noticeably from his angry rant. He worked to rein in his breathing as he looked away from Neptune, and down the hall toward their destination. "…yeah. Sorry." He barely got one step away before Neptune's hand shot out to his shoulder, and stopped him in his tracks.

"Dude, are you _sure_ this is a good idea? You look awful, you _sound_ awful, and… you just kinda exploded on me for no reason. Sage is gonna push every button you've got, a-"

"Let him," Sun interrupted as he wrenched his shoulder out from Neptune's grip and began to walk again. His breathing picked up as it had before, and he stomped his way toward the apartment door.

Neptune jogged to keep up, and slipped around Sun to walk backward in front of him. "Sun, _no_ , you're doing the crazy thing again!"

"I am _not_ crazy!" Sun seethed. "Just wait outside. I'll handle this."

"How about I don't?" Neptune questioned as they reached the door. Sun fixed him with a death glare, and Neptune swallowed hard. "Calm down, or I'm not letting you in there. This isn't you, Sun! You're acting like some kind of…"

"Animal?" Sun finished for him. Neptune's face fell into a guilty expression as he looked down to the floor. "Is that what you were gonna say?"

"…no. _Asshole_ , actually. This _isn't_ you. The Sun I know wouldn't go stomping around while making vague threats and looking ready to strangle someone for disagreeing with him. Sage is already just about at that point with you, and right now, you're just _looking_ for a fight. Admit it- you want him to open that door and start swinging, don't you? That's why I came." Neptune paused, and shifted his weight. "I'm _worried_ about you, man. Blake's worried about you… I think everyone is, honestly."

Sun paused, and lowered himself to sit just outside the door, in the middle of the hallway. Neptune remained silent as he began to pace, and Sun closed his eyes.

"…it's really that bad?"

" _Yes!_ " Neptune insisted as he threw his hands up. "Yeah, it's _really_ bad! Everyone has their limits, and you're clearly at yours. Gonna be totally honest, I think this is a terrible idea right now. You need _rest_ , not this. I know it's not your style to wait on things, but looking for a fight is only going to make things worse for you, me, and Sage. Trust me."

Sun felt his head begin to droop forward as he listened to Neptune's words, and then jerked forward as his eyes fluttered open again.

"…dude, _come on_. You're either about to go down for the count, or literally rip Sage's head off his shoulders. Neither one is productive," Neptune chided as he offered a gloved hand. Sun stared up the limb with weary eyes, before grasping it and pulling himself up to stand on shaky feet.

"…I'm not feeling so good."

Neptune nearly doubled over as he let out a sigh strong enough to deflate his entire body. "You don't say? Are my words _just_ now starting to register? C'mon, lean on me, and let's get you to a bed."

"Weiss sent me an address," Sun mumbled as Neptune ducked under Sun's arm and wrapped it around his neck.

"Yeah, I know the place. Hang in there. Let's get you fixed up, and we can deal with this tomorrow, or the next day."

"Sorry," Sun said in a breathy voice as he began to walk once again. The last of his spiteful adrenaline fizzled out, and he felt himself dragging his feet heavily along the warped wooden floor.

"Nah," Neptune declined as he guided his friend. "Even the best leaders can't _always_ lead. Sometimes, their second in command has to shoulder some of the burden. Save your breath, and just trust me. I've got you."

Sun nodded an affirmation. He felt his head droop once again, and remembered nothing of the journey back to the safe house beyond that point.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Right- tomorrow's another holiday, so this is going up a bit early.

Next update on Thursday. It's... a little different from the rest of the story so far, to say the least.

 **-RD**


	50. Beast of Blood

Adam Taurus' mind was blank as he sat upon a fallen tree, staring into the small bonfire before him. The cool night air whistled softly through the branches and leaves of the surrounding forest, and was accompanied by nothing but the noise from the crackling logs. Adam's lip twitched slightly as he lowered his gaze to the grass and leaf litter on the forest floor below, and thought back through the events of the day before. Somehow, _everything_ had gone wrong.

Idly, he began to pop his sword back in and out of the sheath as he felt his blood begin to boil. The familiar scrape and _click_ joined the chorus of the fire while he mulled over his options, until the sudden sound of a snapping twig broke him out of his trance. Adam stopped shifting his blade, and scanned the tree line for intruders.

"…Corsac?" he tried, only to receive no response. Adam stood and gripped the hilt of Wilt tightly as he began to turn, surveying the clearing. Another branch snapped, and Adam whirled to follow the source of the sound. Quite suddenly, leaves began to crunch behind him, and he turned again just in time to throw up Blush and catch the sword of an oncoming attacker.

Adam grit his teeth as Blush sparked against the generic sword in his opponent's hand, and his anger only intensified as he stared into the eye holes of a familiar White Fang mask. More footsteps echoed out around him as two other members of the Fang ran into the clearing, yelling and brandishing weapons.

" _There he is!_ " a man with an automatic rifle yelled. Adam kneed his first opponent in the gut before turning to the new foe and flourishing his blade as bullets began to speed in his direction. With practiced grace, he deflected the stream of lead and executed a running slash across the man's chest, only for him to crumple down onto the forest floor.

The third attacker went for a leaping strike from behind while Adam was occupied, only for his sword to be deflected by Blush as Adam quickly shifted the sheath around to his back. He turned and threw out another slash, which the man blocked sloppily before walking backward to keep his balance.

"You tried to _kill_ us, all for your personal glory!" he accused as he returned to a ready stance. "You'll never live up to Sienna!"

"High Leader Cinnamon will reward us greatly for bringing her your head!" his partner added as he moved to take up arms next to his brother. Yet more noises of running attackers bounced off the trees as Adam snarled and turned to face the two grunts.

"Even _she_ stands against me, now? Then there will be no mercy," he threatened.

The first attacker laughed, and shook his head. "Oh, she has _no_ idea that we're here. This is all on us, Taurus. We stood with you at Haven, and you showed that our lives meant _nothing_ to you. She'll be twice the leader you could ever be!"

The other man charged immediately after his friend's speech ended, and Adam spun Blush upward as the sheath began to shift around into shotgun form. He let out a heavy blast into the attacker's gut that caused him to double over as his aura fizzled out in a teal shimmer. Without hesitation, Adam adjusted his aim for the man's forehead, and pulled the trigger. What was left of the body was blown backward into the fallen tree as his friend let out an anguished cry.

" _All_ who defy my will are no more valuable to me than flecks of dirt," Adam spat as he ran forward. The remaining grunt barely got his sword up in time to parry Adam's assault, and lasted through four swings before clashing blades against his former leader.

" _Now!_ " he yelled. "Just shoot him!"

Adam looked over his shoulder just in time to see the bleeding grunt with the rifle raise his gun once again from his positon on the ground. The man fired a burst of three rounds into Adam's shoulder, and his aura flared to catch them all. Adam returned fire with his shotgun as he held off the other grunt's blade in a deadlock, and the prone gunman perished. Three more members of the Fang emerged from the nearby bushes, screaming obscenities as Adam let out a yell of his own. He pushed against the deadlocked grunt with all of his might and doubled the man over, before sinking the tip of Wilt into his stomach and earning a terrified scream from his victim.

"Come, _all_ of you! To stand against me is to forfeit your right to live in the world that I'll create for the faunus!"

"All you've created is tension and targets on our backs!" one of the attackers countered as he and another grunt opened fire on Adam. Several bullets careened straight into Blush as he held the sheath out in front of himself mid-charge, while others missed entirely. He zig-zagged forward and drew Wilt as the blade began to sizzle, only for one of the men to turn tail and run.

"Hey, wh-" his friend asked as he turned to momentarily follow the other man's movements. In the brief moment that his concentration lapsed, Adam crashed into his stomach and drew several slashes across the man's chest. He finished by drawing the blade across the man's throat and kicking his body to the ground, before he sheathed Wilt and spun to fire off a round at the grunt approaching him from behind.

As the new attacker stumbled, Adam fired his blade from his sheath after the other fleeing faunus and knocked the man to the forest floor as the blade spun up and into the air. Adam raced forward with terrifying speed and grabbed the katana before plunging it into the man's lower back and raking it up his spine. The nameless soldier fell into the dirt with an agonized scream, his body twitching slightly as he hit the ground.

The final grunt behind Adam yelled out in both anger and fear as he raised his rifle and began to wildly unload a barrage of bullets. Adam caught them all with Wilt as he slowly advanced, and then sheathed his sword the moment he heard the gun click as it ran out of ammunition. Time almost seemed to slow as the world drained of all color from the grunt's perspective, and Adam's eye flashed a dangerous crimson.

Suddenly, a piercing noise of scraping metal rang out as Wilt seemed to almost teleport from its sheath into an outstretched slash, and the man could no longer process his opponent or surroundings. All at once, he watched in horror as he felt himself falling from the waist up before catching a brief glimpse of his still-standing waist and legs before his head hit the ground, and everything went dark.

Adam sheathed Wilt with one final _click_ as he worked to calm his breathing. He remained very still as he listened for more noises from the surrounding woods, only to hear the crackling fire and nothing else, once again. Without so much as another thought, Adam stepped over the bleeding, bisected corpse of the man before him, and returned to sit upon the fallen tree.

Adam set his weapon aside to lean against the wood, and pulled his scroll from his torn coat. For a moment, he observed his reflection in the blank screen, and his lips twisted into a snarl. Two teeth were missing after his encounter with Sun, his face was marred with bruises, and a large, red welt had formed across his neck. Adam tapped onto the screen to bring up his contacts, partially to banish the sight, and partially for business. With another tap, he connected a call, and waited for the other party to answer.

"They're _still_ coming."

" _I know_ ," Corsac replied over the line. " _I encountered another group, as well. We're being hunted by our own subordinates."_

"Have you heard from Cinnamon?" Adam asked, fearing the answer.

" _No. The last I spoke to her was just before the attack on Haven. Given that I put Ilia out of commission… I don't think she'd be happy to hear from me, anymore."_

"She won't answer my calls. I haven't tried since then, but… we may well be on our own," Adam stated as he shook his head. "This group claimed that she has no involvement in any of this, just like the one before it."

" _I believe it,"_ Corsac replied. " _She doesn't seem the type to turn against the values of the Fang, and you are still its leader."_

Adam merely grunted in agreement, though something about the situation didn't sit well with him.

 _"So, what do you propose we do?"_ Corsac asked. " _I'm headed back your way."_

Adam shifted upon the log, and drummed his fingers against the bark. "…I'll get back to you on that. Get back here, for now."

Before Corsac could answer, Adam ended the call. He narrowed his eyes as the device returned to the contact screen, and he let out a massive sigh as he looked at the name just above Corsac's.

"At this rate, what's even the point?" he asked no one in particular. Despite his attitude, he tapped on Cinnamon's portrait, and brought the device to his ear, expecting disappointment.

* * *

Shafts of morning sunlight filtered through the window and played across Cinnamon's face as she sat sleeping in a chair at Ilia's bedside. The sudden shift in light caused her to jerk awake, and she instinctively shot up and raised her arms slightly in a defensive stance as she surveyed the room. After finding no threats, she slowly dropped her guard and engaged in a full-body stretch. Cinnamon balanced gracefully on her tiptoes before lowering her heels back to the linoleum floor, and stepping into her sandals as she looked down at Ilia.

"…morning. Still rather sleep beside you than him, even if you're about as interesting to talk to as Blake, right now."

A sudden knock at the door caused her nerves to fray and her shoulders to tense.

"You _know_ it's open! It's a hospital!" she yelled from across the room.

A moment later, the door cracked just enough to allow a familiar face to slip inside. Jaune Arc immediately closed the door behind himself and looked over to Cinnamon with a sheepish grin and slight blush.

"Yeah… sorry. I guess I just thought, maybe I'd be disturbing you?"

Cinnamon folded her arms and fixed him with an annoyed glower. "Maybe. I _did_ just wake up. I'm surprised you're back so early for round two."

Jaune made his way across the room, his torn sneakers squeaking slightly against the tile floor. "It just… kinda bothers me, seeing someone like this, when I know I can do something to help. Especially a friend… or a friend of a friend, I guess. Is she nice, when she's awake?"

Cinnamon couldn't help but snort as she watched him approach. "You think _I've_ got an attitude? Ilia might punch you for looking at her the wrong way, unless you're a close friend."

Jaune sucked in a tense breath, and let it out while shaking his hands out. His breastplate jingled slightly with the motion. " _Great_. I'm sure I won't somehow piss her off unintentionally, like I did with you. And I'm still doing, apparently. Somehow. Is it a 'me' thing?"

"…do you wear that _everywhere?_ " Cinnamon asked as she raised a brow.

"I… what?" Jaune replied, his confusion clear upon his face.

"Your armor. Or is it just when you're around me?"

"Oh! No, no, I wear it everywhere. A leader can never be too prepared, right? Besides, I've just kinda… gotten used to it, I guess," Jaune explained with an outward hand motion. "You know, it used to be a bit lighter, but then, when Ruby approached me to start journeying with her team on the way to Haven, we w-"

" _Stop_ ," Cinnamon commanded as she raised a hand in a dismissive motion. "Just… stop talking. _That's_ how you pissed me off last night."

Jaune blinked, and fought back the urge to continue his story. "Got it. Message received. Anything else I can do to, um… _not_ be the worst part of your day?"

"Sprout a tail, or cat ears," Cinnamon mused as she moved to walk around to the opposite side of Ilia's bed. "You'd look halfway decent with ram horns."

Jaune opened his mouth to say something, before closing it, and opening it again. "I don't really see how that would be helpful, but… okay."

" _Okay?_ " Cinnamon questioned.

"Yeah, sure. I'll figure it out, next time we meet. I can't promise the horns won't be plastic, though," Jaune replied with a grin. Cinnamon merely shook her head and grimaced in disgust.

"Too much heart, and too little sense. That's going to get you killed, someday."

"So I've heard, over and over. Are we ready to do this? Same as yesterday?" Jaune inquired as he took up position next to Ilia's broken arm.

Cinnamon finally uncrossed her arms, and raised a finger. " _Actually_ … give me the details of your semblance, if you would."

Jaune swallowed hard, and met Cinnamon's eyes. "You know, that's going to involve a _lot_ of me talking…"

" _Arc,_ " Cinnamon seethed in a dangerous tone.

"Right! Sorry!" Jaune cleared his throat, and braced himself on the rail of Ilia's bed. "Well, I don't _fully_ understand it, yet, but I can amplify the auras of other people. That helps with healing, which is what I'm doing here, but it also means that I can boost someone else's semblance. I tried it out with Ruby in the back yard yesterday afternoon, and we… broke several sections of fence. Qrow wasn't happy. It's his summer home, apparently."

"Never mind that," Cinnamon said as she shook her head. "Boosting a _semblance_ is exactly what I was hoping you'd be capable of. I have an idea."

"Oh no," Jaune replied instinctively.

"…I will _skin_ you."

"Okay, okay! Sorry, it's a reflex when you have Nora on your team!" Jaune explained. "What's your idea?" Jaune paused, and tilted his head slightly. "Actually, what's _your_ semblance?"

" _Exactly_ ," Cinnamon replied with a smirk. "Now, you're thinking. My semblance is _your_ semblance… or rather, I can use the semblance of anyone I'm touching. It also works on someone who has been injected by my spines, but doing that to you seems a bit rude, all things considered."

"Extremely rude, yes," Jaune agreed with a nervous laugh.

"…yet still tempting," Cinnamon stated as she narrowed her eyes. "Regardless, I can spend my own aura to trigger that 'borrowed' semblance, and in the process… intensify it, by using mine _and_ the victim's."

Jaune took a moment to process the information. "So… if I can amplify aura, and you can take that amplification and burn us _both_ out to amplify my amplification…"

"…then it would likely result in a feedback loop that amounts to a quick fix for wounds," Cinnamon finished for him.

"That's… that's _incredible_ ," Jaune said with a smile. "If it works, I mean. If you're right, and you stick with us, we could be a two-man healing station! Or semblance accelerator! Imagine you, touching me, touching Weiss! We could probably generate some kind of super-glyph! I mean, not me _touching_ Weiss, or you t-"

" _No_ ," Cinnamon said immediately. "This is a one-time offer. Once Ilia is healed up and awake, I'm out of here."

"Well that's… unfortunate, but alright," Jaune replied as he rested his hand upon Ilia's broken arm, looking a bit like a kicked puppy. "Are you ready?"

Cinnamon laid her hand atop Jaune's, before placing her other one higher up on Ilia's arm. "Wish I'd eaten something first, but whatever. Start us off."

A swirling sheet of white energy began to coat Jaune's hand, before a similar orange effect sprang to life around Cinnamon's fingers. Suddenly, the two sections of aura began to mix before traveling up Cinnamon's arm and across the back of her shoulders to her other hand. The swirl of white and orange snaked down into Ilia's flesh, and the entire pathway began to softly hum as the pair worked.

" _Wow_ ," Jaune commented as his hand trembled slightly. "I can feel… I don't even know how to describe it. It's almost like that woozy feeling, after having your blood drawn."

"That's my gift," Cinnamon said with a nod. "Usually a curse for others. As much as I loathe to admit this to a human, I'll owe you one, once she wakes up."

"Are we all _really_ that bad, in your eyes? I mean, I know that a lot of us are awful, but some of us care. Maybe I haven't exactly been picketing for faunus rights in the streets, but I honestly didn't even notice your spines, at first. I'm also not the most perceptive individual, but the point stands," Jaune said.

"In that case, why don't you go and find me a grimm to make friends with? I'm sure there are a few that wouldn't be interested in eating either of us. It must be worth looking, right?" Cinnamon asked as she took her eyes off of Ilia to look back at Jaune.

"Okay, well that's… I guess a lot of humans _do_ see faunus like that, don't they?" Jaune admitted with a defeated tone.

"Our legacy is being kept in _cages_. It wasn't that long ago that we w-"

A sharp, desperate inhale broke up the conversation as Ilia's eyes flew open. The sound and sudden movement caused Cinnamon to jerk her hand away and Jaune to squeal in surprise. Suddenly, Ilia began to cough violently as she sat up in bed and tore off her oxygen mask.

"Where… w-where and… how…?" she questioned, her eyes glassy and unfocused as she began to wheeze.

" _Easy!_ " Cinnamon commanded as she gently pushed into the center of Ilia's chest. The girl resisted only for a moment before she looked up at her friend and allowed herself to be guided back to the mattress.

"Cin? And… who are _you?_ " Ilia asked as she looked over at Jaune.

"Jaune Arc. An old friend of Blake and Sun. Well, 'friend' might be pushing it, we're more acquaint-"

"He's an ally who helped with bringing you back to the waking world, and he talks too damned much about nothing," Cinnamon clarified as she took Ilia's good hand. "Glad to see you awake, Amitola."

"How long was I out? And more importantly, where are Blake and Sun?" Ilia replied as she looked around the room, only to be disappointed.

"It's been two days, and I'm not sure, on Blake. Sun apparently stayed here with you and without sleep for entirely too long, and is _hopefully_ now resting elsewhere. I'll let you send him a text once we're sure you're up and functional. Put the oxygen mask back on, and stop pushing yourself," Cinnamon ordered.

Ilia leaned back into her pillow with a sigh, and eyed up Jaune with a curious look.

"Thank you, for whatever part you played in this. I'll find you later, so we can talk," Ilia said before slipping her mask back on.

Jaune waved a hand, and shook his head. "Happy to help. I'll… let you two get back to catching up. Call if you need me," he instructed before heading for the door.

"…maybe I will," Cinnamon commented as she watched him disappear out into the hall. As the door shut, she turned back to Ilia and narrowed her eyes. "Now, let me tell you all about the things that Blake's little friends planned on keeping from us… and what I want you to do about it."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I think this may be the first chapter not to feature Sun or Blake at all. There certainly won't be many, if _any_ more of them, but it needed to happen to let monkey boy get some rest. If I had to ballpark it, we're probably about 10 chapters out from the end.

Keep in mind, every time I've thrown out a chapter estimate, I've been _wildly_ off. Remember when the goal was 30? Good times.

Next update on Sunday.

 **-RD**


	51. Everything Laid Bare

A soft groan escaped Sun as he blinked awake. He briefly stretched his limbs as he groggily took in his surroundings, and found them unfamiliar. He was beneath two blankets and a heavy comforter in a rather large bed, with a warm body pressed into his back. Sun let out a sigh of relief as he closed his eyes and rolled over to embrace Blake, only for something about the proportions of her torso to strike him as _very_ wrong.

"…I mean, I'm not gonna _complain_ , but this is a first."

"…Neptune. I'm going to _kill_ you."

Sun immediately released his hold upon his friend and scooted back, while Neptune let out a mirthful laugh.

"What? You don't check, before you get all handsy?"

"I _thought_ that if someone was in bed with me, it'd be my _girlfriend_. Is that so much of a stretch?" Sun asked as he sat up and immediately grabbed the sides of his head. Shooting pain coursed through his skull, and he groaned loudly.

"Hey. You alright, dude?" Neptune asked as he followed suit and sat up. He placed a soft hand on Sun's bare shoulder, and his friend allowed it.

"…feels like I took a train to the forehead," Sun mumbled as he rubbed at his temples. Neptune leaned off to the side and pulled the chain on the bedside lamp to allow a soft glow into the otherwise dark room.

"You went for almost three days straight, and I kinda doubt you've been eating right, drinking, or… well, doing anything but moving forward on sheer rage. Blake asked me to keep you company while she sorts some things with her mom and the Black Claw. I don't really know details, but…"

"…thanks, man. Sorry for being so…" Sun trailed off, only for Neptune to shake his head.

"It's whatever. It's also four in the morning, so… we're probably the only ones awake, right about now," Neptune informed as he glanced at the wall clock.

"Cool… and I'm wide awake and hating it," Sun complained. He threw back the covers and moved to stand, only to find himself completely naked. Sun stared for only a moment, and then threw the covers back over himself as Neptune exited the bed, wearing only a pair of red boxers.

"There's also that. Your stuff was kinda gross, so Blake did laundry. Our clothes are down the ha-"

" _Our_ clothes?" Sun asked incredulously as he looked at Neptune in disbelief.

"Well, yeah. She was gonna run a load anyway, so she threw my stuff in, too," Neptune stated as if it couldn't be more obvious. Sun merely continued to stare, somewhere between annoyance and embarrassment. "Dude, who _cares_ , honestly? Like it's the first time this has happened."

"It's the first time _I've_ been nude around _you_ , yeah!" Sun informed. "Just because _you_ like to walk out of the shower without a towel like it's no big deal doesn't mean it's normal!"

"Uh-huh," Neptune replied as he stretched, and moved to flick on the light switch near the door. Sun blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the light once again. "Want me to grab you a towel?"

" _Yes_ ," Sun hissed as he laid back in bed and stared up at the ceiling. The paint job was a rich gold, matching a single accent wall. The rest were all painted a deep red, with subtle patterns that almost resembled plant life spiraling along the perimeter.

Neptune moved for the attached bathroom, and flicked the light on as he entered. "So, I'm thinkin' we go and get our clothes back, and then head for the kitchen. The laundry room's down on this floor, and it's on the way. You should _see_ this place, man. That Qrow guy's got it made."

"I'm about to, apparently," Sun replied as he caught the towel that flew from the open doorway. Slowly, he pulled back the covers and wrapped himself in the fluffy pink fabric as the sound of Neptune relieving himself in the other room echoed off the walls. "Dude, _really?_ Between you and Sage, I swear it's like living with barbarians."

"Everybody pees, Sun!" Neptune yelled from the bathroom. "We almost lived together for a year, it's like we're practically married anyway!"

Sun shook his head as he stood, and heaved a sigh. "You're so gross. Close the door next time, or I'm telling Weiss."

There was a pause of silence, before the toilet flushed and Neptune poked his head out from around the doorframe. "You _wouldn't_."

"I totally would, if it gets you to stop," Sun teased with a smirk. Neptune disappeared back into the bathroom and ran the sink, whining as he washed his hands.

"Come on, guy-dorm stuff stays there! Or do you want me to tell Blake about your dirty mags?"

Sun made his way to the bathroom door and began stretches of his own as he watched Neptune checking his face in the mirror.

"…have you _seen_ the kind of books she reads? I'd bet her collection is bigger than mine."

"…fair point. Still, though, no using Weiss to threaten me. I didn't even think I'd see her again, but now that we're traveling together? Charm's back on, my guy," Neptune stated with a confident smile.

"Charm was _never_ on. I seriously don't get what girls see in you. Out," Sun commanded as he strode into the bathroom. Neptune exited as Sun closed the door behind him and began his own morning rituals.

"You're cruel, you know that? I'm gonna go get our clothes," Neptune informed as he made his way toward the door of the bedroom.

Sun paused briefly, and looked over his shoulder at the closed bathroom door. "…you're not seriously about to wander another guy's house in your boxers. Neptune?" He received no response, and let out a frustrated noise as he used his foot to flush the toilet. He twisted the doorknob and leaned out into the main bedroom. " _Neptune!"_

The room was bare, and Sun cursed silently to himself. _"Unbelievable!"_

With a weary sigh, Sun returned to the bathroom. He locked the door behind himself and let the towel drop to the ground, before approaching the mirror. As he washed his hands, he looked himself over, and found that new bandages were in place over his nose, his side, and his hairline. Sun frowned at the thought of what might await him beneath each bandage, and took a deep breath as he turned the water off.

Sun started with his hairline, and found only a faint scar resting just beneath his bangs. As he let the locks drop, they covered it completely, and he allowed himself a wry smile. "I'll take it, I guess."

Next, he peeled the large, thick bandage from atop his nose. The entire ridge had titled slightly to one side, and the break was incredibly obvious against his otherwise flawless features. Sun looked away, feeling awful about himself as he focused instead upon the large, multi-layered bandage upon his side. Something told him that it would be best to leave it in place, and so, he left the thick covering where it was.

" _Hey, I got clothes!"_ Neptune called from the other side of the door. The handle jiggled as the other boy tried to open it, only for the door to remain firmly in place. " _What gives?_ "

"…what gives is that my towel is down, and I _know_ you," Sun said as he rolled his eyes. He pulled his towel from the ground and back around his waist, before opening the door. "Seriously, man- if you _do_ somehow trick Weiss into dating you, you're gonna need to learn boundaries."

Neptune put a hand to his chest, seemingly offended. " _Excuse_ me? Dude-boundaries and lady-boundaries are totally different," he explained as he offered Sun's shorts, boxers, and socks with his other hand.

"…is that why, despite having your clothes under your arm, you're still parading around in boxers?" Sun asked as he accepted the clothing.

"If you've got it, flaunt it," Neptune sang as he turned and headed back into the room proper. Sun merely shook his head, and closed the bathroom door. He quickly dressed himself and then followed Neptune into the main room. He grabbed his scroll off the nightstand and shoved it into his pocket, before folding his arms across his chest. "Alright, turn off the smarmy asshole for a second. I need to ask you something."

Neptune sat upon the bed, buttoning his jacket as he shifted his expression to one more serious than the usual. "Of course. What's on your mind?"

Sun shifted uncomfortably as he folded his arms across his chest and looked off to the side. "How bad is it?"

Neptune blinked in confusion as he finished pulling on his gloves. "…how bad is what?"

" _My nose_ ," Sun stated with a haughty sigh. "Because in the mirror, it looks _hideous_."

Neptune said nothing for a while, before he pushed himself up off the bed and approached Sun to rest his hands on his friend's shoulders.

" _Sun_ , I'm gonna be honest with you- it's not bad at all. Sure, it's not exactly 'beautiful', but it doesn't totally wreck your face, either. Blake's not gonna dump you over it, and nobody you care about will give you shit for it. It's subtle enough to not be immediately noticeable, and once you _do_ notice, it gives you a little roguish charm. These things happen, and I'd be more worried about your side, honestly. Does it still hurt?"

" _Everything_ hurts right now," Sun whined. "I feel awful in every way."

"…she told me more about Ghira, you know. The details, how close you were… pretty much everything," Neptune admitted. Sun looked him over, and let his expression droop into a heavy frown.

"Neptune, no offense, but I don't really want to talk about my _feelings_ with you, especially right now."

"None taken," Neptune replied as he wrapped Sun into a tight hug.

" _Neptune!_ " Sun cried, only for the other boy not to move. After a few seconds, Sun returned the embrace, his voice growing softer. "Everything sucks right now."

"Yeah, I know, but having you back doesn't suck. _Breakfast_ doesn't suck," Neptune taunted as he gave Sun one last squeeze, before breaking away. "Come on, guy. Let me work my magic in the kitchen, and you'll start to feel better. Maybe."

"Food and a shower sounds good, right about now," Sun admitted as the pair headed for the door. "Let's just hope we _are_ the only two awake, if Blake's not around."

"Something wrong with the rest of the team?" Neptune asked as they made their way down the hall.

"I mean, I haven't seen any of them, yet, but Blake said that Yang's pissed at her, and I'd rather not deal with her, right now. Or at all, honestly," Sun said as they turned a corner.

"Well… Yang's got a right to be angry, _and_ you totally just jinxed us, so she's probably sitting alone in the kitchen, waiting for you with boxing gloves on. Either way, it's something they're gonna have to work out in time," Neptune replied.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Yang's a pretty cool girl, honestly. Or at least, I _thought_ she was cool," Sun said as they made their way into the kitchen. The ceiling fan light was on, and an unfamiliar, olive-skinned boy stood waiting expectantly before the coffee machine. In his right hand was a cane braced against the floor, and he wore a simple farmhand's outfit. He turned to face Sun and Neptune as they entered, and blinked in surprise.

"Oh! I wasn't expecting anyone else to be awake. Coffee?" the boy offered. Sun pulled a face on instinct, though Neptune stepped forward and nodded.

"Sure! Oscar, this is Sun. I know you two haven't had a chance to meet yet, b-"

"…Professor Ozpin," Sun said flatly. Silence fell over the room as Oscar and Neptune both blinked in surprise.

"Sun, what are you talking about?"

Oscar's expression turned into a frown, and rested both hands atop his cane. "It's complicated, and he's _not_ happy right now. How did you find out?"

"Does it really matter?" Sun asked as he strode over to the kitchen island and pulled out a stool. He sat down and braced his elbows on the countertop as Oscar's eyes flashed emerald. The boy briefly became unbalanced, before standing a bit straighter than before. His gaze turned cold as he looked Sun over and spoke in a firmer, less friendly voice.

"It very much does."

"It'll all come out, sooner or later. For now, let's just focus on how we're on the same side, and we're going to be working together. I honestly don't have the energy to keep up half-truths or start arguments," Sun said with a wave of his hand.

"…still very much in the dark here," Neptune added as he leaned against the counter, his eyes locked on Oscar. The smaller boy looked over to him, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"…right now, you are speaking to Professor Ozpin. I am capable of reincarnation, and my soul is bound to this young man, Oscar Pine. Sun Wukong was not supposed to be privy to such knowledge, but then again, many things that are not supposed to be have happened, lately. I'm almost not even surprised."

Neptune shivered in discomfort. "…oh. Right. That's, uh, simple enough? At least we have you with us?"

Oscar's eyes flashed once again, and he quite nearly fell over as he gripped the cane to remain standing. His knees wobbled slightly before he found his balance, and shook his head. Finally, he cleared his throat and took several deep breaths, before looking back up at Neptune.

"…at my expense. Despite all that, it's nice to see you again… and nice to meet you, Sun," he said as he looked back over to the faunus. Sun drummed his fingers upon the countertop, and froze as he felt an odd, rough mess of hair brush against the side of his arm.

"I'll echo that. Nice to see both of you boys again."

Sun slowly let his eyes wander to the side, only to find Yang Xiao Long sitting upon the stool next to him. She wore a white tank top and short black shorts, along with a glittering golden mechanical arm. Yang offered Sun a sly smirk, and elbowed him in the arm.

"Hey. It's been a while."

Oscar turned and feverishly began making coffee, as Neptune slowly approached the island. He gave Sun a nervous look, and jumped into the conversation.

"Morning, Yang. You're up early."

Yang stretched her arms up above her head and closed her eyes as she took a large inhale. "Yeah, I've been getting up around now and going for a run, these days. Weird, I know, but I've got too much on my mind to sleep, lately."

"…I know that feeling. Good to see you too, Yang," Sun cut in as he shifted slightly to look at her. Tension took hold of his chest as he eyed her up, and he felt his muscles growing tight. Something inside of him wanted to reach out and wring her neck, while his more logical side settled for keeping things pleasant.

"You feeling any better, Sun? You looked like shit when Neptune brought you in last night," Yang asked with genuine concern. The feelings in Sun's chest only became more conflicted as she spoke, and he looked away to watch Oscar as the young boy went about making coffee.

"…a little."

Neptune leaned against the island, and folded his arms atop the surface as he leaned in toward Yang. "He's been through a lot."

"We've _all_ been through a lot," Yang countered. "Still, here for you guys, if you need anything. Like you just said- we're all on the same side."

" _Yeah_ ," Sun agreed as he went back to drumming his fingers. Yang looked between the two boys as neither made eye contact with her.

"…Miss Xiao Long, the usual?" Oscar asked from next to the refrigerator.

"Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks, Oscar," Yang said with a smile as he brought her an opened egg carton. The farmhand looked up at Sun nervously, and clasped his hands in front of himself.

"…you should really eat something. What can I make you?"

"Headache medicine. Also, eggs would be cool. Raw's fine," he added as he watched Yang crack and down one of her eggs. Neptune shivered and gagged at the sight, before walking to the fridge himself.

"I'll take care of myself. Leave the health food to those two."

Oscar let out a small chuckle as he offered Sun the egg carton, and the faunus took two for himself. Afterward, he busied himself with filling a glass of water and rummaging through a cabinet to find a small bottle, before sliding both down the island to Sun.

"Thanks. Can you… talk to the professor, just by thinking?"

Oscar's good humor disappeared as he nodded. "I can."

"Well, what's the plan, from here? I want to know what he thinks about all of this," Sun asked.

Yang shifted in her seat as she downed her second egg, and gave Sun a look. "Little less brash, if you would? Oz is basically a parasite, inside of him. It's not exactly pleasant."

Oscar shook his head and held up a hand as he closed his eyes. "No, it's fine… and he has every right to ask. The professor says that there will be a meeting tonight, about what to do from here."

" _Tonight?_ " Yang asked, as Sun opened his mouth to speak. "Hell no, old man. We're all barely hanging on, here, and look at this guy- he's practically dead on his feet. Tomorrow."

Neptune looked at Oscar, and nodded. "For admittedly what very little it's worth, I'm with Yang on this one. I haven't even been involved that long, and _I'm_ exhausted. Can we push it back a day, for all of our sakes?"

Oscar furrowed his brows as Sun found himself silently thanking them both for intervening. Suddenly, Oscar nodded, and cleared his throat. "Tomorrow, then, but he isn't happy."

Yang shrugged as she dismounted from her stool. "Funny, that. _I'm_ not happy that he's still keeping shit from us and acting shady. Guess we're even."

Sun swallowed his final egg and shivered slightly as he looked up at Yang. "Are you still going for that run?"

Yang lifted her natural elbow up and around her head, before popping her shoulder with a grunt. "Yeah, why?"

"…I'll come with you," Sun replied as he moved to stand.

" _Sun_ ," Neptune started from his place at the counter. The glare he received in return was enough to get him to look back down at the ingredients before him, and fall silent. Yang looked between them both, before doing two small hops in place and shaking her head.

"…well, as long as you're sure you can keep up."

"I can. I will," Sun affirmed. "Let's get going."

"You got it," Yang replied as she led him into a hall and toward the main entrance. The hallway grew brighter as light began to filter in through a nearby window. "Sun's almost up."

Sun smirked to himself and followed Yang out onto the doorstep. "Yeah. Imagine that."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Just when you thought Sun was out of awkward situations involving towels, _he's right back in._

I want to address something in a certain review from last chapter about a particular character very, very badly, but I'm going to hold off from specifics. All I'll say is that I'll be direct about it in the final chapter, and I'm extremely impressed that someone connected the dots so perfectly. If it was you, then you'll probably know exactly what I'm talking about. Very, _very_ well done.

Next update on Wednesday.

 **-RD**


	52. Sage Advice

Sun jogged through the cobblestone streets alongside Yang, keeping pace for the most part as she stayed slightly ahead to determine their direction. Neither of them had spoken since leaving the house, though Sun had spent the duration trying to find the words while ignoring the uncomfortable sensation around his ribs. Unfortunately for him, around ten minutes into the jog, a sharp pain shot up his side and he clutched his torso in agony as he slowed to a stop. He hissed in pain as he felt around the bandage on his side, and Yang only noticed after she was a good twenty feet ahead of him. After catching on, she turned and jogged back, only to squat in front of Sun as the boy tried to catch his breath.

"Hey, what's going on? You alright?"

"I… no, not really," Sun admitted as he grit his teeth. "This was a really, _really_ bad idea."

"I could've told you that, but I wasn't about to turn you away when you looked so determined," Yang admonished as she offered her shoulder. Sun threw his arm over her for support, and Yang began to guide him toward a nearby bench. Slowly, she eased him down onto it before sitting beside him.

"Yeah, well," Sun began in between hisses of pain. "Needed to talk. Alone."

"Which is why… you've been silent this entire time?" Yang asked as she checked his bandages. The girl gingerly put her fingers on the tape holding the gauze wrappings in place, and slowly began to peel it back as Sun grunted.

"Probably… 'cause the only thing I can think to say is 'what the hell is wrong with you?'" Sun said with a yelp as Yang peeled back another layer of gauze. The sheet beneath was stained a light pink, and she frowned as she looked up at him.

"…this is about Blake, isn't it?"

" _Yes,_ it's about Blake. She's convinced you hate her, now. Do you have any idea how long it took me to instill a _shred_ of confidence in her?" Sun asked through labored breaths. "Now, I'm worried she's going to go back to how she was when I first ran after her. She's constantly in and out, doing things away from me and taking on more work, and… it's like you were the last straw."

Yang blinked as she peeled away another layer, and found a spot of a darker color. She cringed both at the sight and his words as she worked to continue uncovering the wound. "Sun, you have no idea what you're talking about. Yeah, I haven't been _pleasant_ toward her, but it's not like she just up and disappeared. She's been back at the house every night since you guys arrived, and she's been talking to the team regularly. She just doesn't talk to _me_ , because I more or less told her to get bent."

Sun whimpered as the final layer of gauze came off to reveal a torn section of skin along the scar forming on his torso. He sucked in a breath as he leaned back and closed his eyes. "That… I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure that isn't good. Also, could you _not?_ Her father just died, and Adam's causing a lot of trouble for both of us. She's a little fragile, right now. Or at least, it would make sense if she was…"

Yang rolled off her top without hesitation and balled it into a collection of fabric as she sat on the bench in nothing but a bra and shorts. She quickly pressed the wad of material against Sun's side and applied pressure while making a face.

"…I'm sorry to hear that. I'll try to go easier on her, but… honestly, Sun, you don't know what _I've_ been through. You don't know what I've had to deal with t-"

"And you don't know what _she's_ been through," Sun interrupted as he opened his eyes and caught sight of Yang's state of undress. He quickly looked down at the ground, and shook his head. "Do you…?"

"No, because she would never open up to me," Yang replied. "I tried for almost a _year_ to get her to talk me through what she's thinking, and she just never wanted to let me in. Do you know how frustrating that gets, especially when she up and runs away? My own _mother_ abandoned me, Sun. I was stuck raising Ruby more or less alone while trying to grow up, myself, so if someone walks out… I don't usually give second chances. There's more to it than that, but that's the basic idea. You can't tell me that what she did was fair, even if you _are_ in a serious relationship. She didn't even stay to make sure I was fucking _alive_ , before she bolted."

Sun closed his eyes as he tried to figure out what to say. The pain in his side started to dull as his aura began to work at mending the wound, though he could still feel the strained muscle beneath. "I'm sorry, Yang, but… I was abandoned, too. I've never even met my parents. They dumped me off at a foster home before I could even talk, and I still don't know why. I chased after Blake to make sure she would be okay and get the help she needed, but… she ended up helping _me_. She gave me a family, even though I just lost a member of it. Blake shuts down entirely when she's in crisis, but when she's not? I couldn't ask for anything more than what she's given me, to make me feel loved. She'll do that for you, too, if you give her the chance."

"And I plan to… _in time_ ," Yang warned as she untangled her shirt and stretched it out. She tied the fabric around Sun's waist and over his shoulder before putting a knot in it, and standing to offer him a hand. "But you can't tell me to just magically drop my spiteful feelings because she was upset. I lost my mother, an arm, and a really close friend… and you know what? Losing that friend hurt more than the other two."

Sun grasped Yang's hand and stood as he kept his other arm around the makeshift bandage. "…you really mean that?"

"Yeah, I do. Blake and I will be fine, in time, but you can't just crusade on in and _demand_ that I play nice right here, right now. I like you, Sun, but if that's the approach you take… things are gonna get ugly between us. I need time, and she needs to understand what she did to me," Yang said as she gathered up the bloodied gauze and threw it into a nearby trashcan.

Sun hung his head in defeat, and rubbed at the back of his neck. "That's… fair, I guess. It sucks, but it's fair. Just don't get mad at me when I play the boyfriend part, and comfort her."

Yang crossed her arms and snorted. "Sun, you and Blake may be a thing, but you're two different people. One of you pissed me off. The other didn't. If _you_ had run out on Team RWBY, it'd be _your_ ass that I'd be after… but you didn't."

"…I ran out on Team SSSN," Sun said sheepishly. Yang's lip twitched, and she looked less than impressed.

"…yeah. Yeah, I guess you did. That was a shitty thing to do, but I can tell you're already paying the price, considering Sage and Scarlet aren't around. Can you walk, now?" Yang asked as she repositioned herself at Sun's side, ready to catch him.

"I think so, yeah. I hope. Thanks, Yang… and I'll get you a new shirt, when I finally get around to getting one of my own," Sun joked. He set out at a slow pace toward the safe house with Yang beside him, before realization hit him. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, but I might not answer, depending on what it is," Yang offered.

"It's about Sage, actually," Sun began as they made their way up the sidewalk. "He's really pissed that I walked out on our team to go after Blake. He's actually _here_ , and wouldn't even budge to help us out at Haven, despite knowing the stakes. I'm furious with him over it, but… I mean, I get it, too. We used to be pretty good friends, and now it's… something else. Something nasty, that's about to get worse. What would you do, in my situation?"

A silent fire burned in Yang's eyes as she listened to Sun speak, and grew in intensity over time. She inhaled sharply through her nose before breathing out harshly through her mouth as he finished.

"…first of all… he's a Class-A douchebag for leaving us all high and dry, while knowing how serious the situation at Haven was. That _alone_ is enough to make me say cut all ties, or kick his ass, and _then_ cut all ties. Though, on the other hand… had I been in his situation, I would've been tempted to sit out, too. I wouldn't have _done_ it, but the temptation would be there. What's the hang up, Sun? Why are you even considering something other than throwing him away?" Yang asked as she cracked her knuckles.

Sun put his hands in his pockets as they walked, and thought silently to himself for a moment. "I guess… well, he holds a grudge like no other, and that's nothing new. He once didn't talk to me for two days because I accidentally ate his leftovers. Stuff like that. But… there were good times, too. We all had a lot of fun, and I miss that… even if he really _is_ too far gone, now. Besides… he's a great fighter, and with all of this relic and Salem stuff, we could use all the help we can get."

"…so you know," Yang said matter-of-factly.

"I know, yeah. I'm up to speed on just about everything, and so is Blake," Sun offered.

"And you're not wrong. We could definitely use the extra muscle, and not a lot of people are going to be willing to stand up to Salem. If you could rally him, it'd be a big help… but as far as what _I_ would do? There's gotta be more there, beneath the surface, that's causing him to react the way he did. I mean, look at me. If you didn't know me well, would you think I'd react to Blake the way I have?" Yang asked.

"Not really," Sun admitted. "Which is why I found it so weird and upsetting until we had this conversation."

" _Exactly_. So, go in sympathetic, and try to understand where he's coming from. Then, admit that you're a total asshole who abandoned his team to chase puss. Literally," Yang said with a smirk.

Sun made a frustrated noise, and gave Yang a glare. "It was _not_ about that. It's _still_ not about that!"

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry. She's not giving it up?" Yang teased as Sun continued to fume. "Hey, I'm _beyond_ entitled to giving you shit over it, considering the situation. Man up."

"I'm serious, Yang. It wasn't for sex, and it still isn't. It's deeper than that," Sun insisted.

"Do you _love_ her, Sun?" Yang asked while making a kissy face at him.

" _Yes_ , Yang, I do. I have for a long time, and I'm not ashamed to admit that. I don't care what other guys would say, or how they pretend it's nothing more than sex. I'm in it for our connection. Period," Sun finished. Yang's features softened as she gave him an honest smile.

"Then she's in good hands, and I'm happy for you. But in terms of Sage… that's probably how he sees it, and if you just got that flustered with _me_ , imagine how you'll react once _he_ starts pushing your buttons. I have a feeling his methods won't be as flirty," Yang warned as they walked up onto the lawn of the safe house.

"No, they won't be, and I'm… hey, can we… _not_ go back inside, just yet? There's a little more to this than it seems," Sun said. "I mean, you don't _have_ to listen to all of this, but I'd really appreciate it."

"What else is eating at you?" Yang asked as she sat down on the grass. Sun took a seat beside her, albeit more slowly as he kept a hand on his side. He took a few deep breaths before transitioning to lie on his back in the grass while staring up at the sky.

"Yang, lately, I've been… having… I dunno if they're 'attacks', or 'episodes', or… I get angry. Angry like I've never been, before."

Yang immediately became more attentive as she rotated her body to face Sun completely. "What kind of 'angry', Sun? Like, 'fuck you, world' angry, or 'I just want to scream' angry, or…"

"…how about 'I want to kill someone' angry?" Sun asked, while avoiding her eyes. "You know me fairly well, and you know how I usually am… but the first time I met Adam, I just… _lost it_. I went off on him in front of an entire village, and set Blake's family back a bit because I couldn't keep my cool."

"That's perfectly understandable, around the king of douchenozzles," Yang sympathized.

"Yeah, but not in that situation. It happened again each time I've encountered him, and then… then it started happening in _other_ situations. I ended up against one of his lackeys, who hurt one of my friends, and… I don't even remember what I said to him. I feel like I might've blacked out afterward, or… I don't remember how we fought, or the sequence of events, but I do remember how I _felt_ , looking at him. Like I wanted to just… put my hands into his stomach and _pull_ to either side, until I tore through him. It's like he wasn't even a person," Sun finished as he clenched his fists.

Yang spoke slowly and calmly as she put her hand atop one of Sun's. "…and you're asking me because you have a feeling I've been there."

"…yeah," Sun admitted. "And… because I felt just about the same, when I was standing at Sage's door, before Neptune talked me down. And I get flares of it, now, when something is going wrong, or when pressure builds up, and it's starting to trigger more and more over smaller and smaller things, and I can't help it, and…"

"…you're scared," Yang finished.

"…I'm scared," Sun agreed. The two sat together in the grass for a while, just taking in their surroundings as Yang thought over his words.

"Is it worse around Adam, or is it just… zero to a hundred, whenever it hits?" Yang asked cautiously.

Sun interlaced his fingers and rested his hands atop his chest as he looked up at the sky, and remained silent. Minutes passed as Yang waited patiently, watching him.

"… _Sun_. I'm not judging you."

"Honestly, I was kinda hoping you'd just somehow forget you asked," Sun said. "It's… the second one. _That's_ what scares me, a lot. So far, most of the times it's happened, it's been a really bad situation, but with Sage… I was out for blood, and I hadn't even seen his face, yet. If Neptune hadn't been there, I don't know what would've happened. I don't know what else is going to set me off, and I really don't want to find out."

"That's… _really_ not healthy, Sun," Yang warned as she rubbed the back of his bandaged hand. "Yes, I get pissed sometimes. _Really_ pissed, even, but... I can't say I've ever felt ready to kill someone. Maybe Adam, if we run into each other again, but what you're describing is really bad."

"It's psychotic," Sun offered in a small voice.

"…you said it, not me," Yang replied as she put her hands up. "Have you told Blake about this?"

"Yes," Sun said quickly. "Well… kinda. I mean… not _really_ …?"

"She needs to know. Honestly, it could be a liability if you can't get this under c-"

"Don't even _think_ about suggesting I stay out of this," Sun interrupted. There was an unfamiliar edge to his voice, sharp enough that Yang was taken aback. Slowly, Sun calmed as he took a deep breath. "Sorry."

"Sun, you need _help_ ," Yang said. "And I don't mean that in a mocking way, or like you need to be 'left behind' or anything like that. I mean you really do need to talk to someone who has experience with this. I might be able to do a little something to help you get it under control, but the thoughts you're having aren't normal. I've gotten a lot of my anger issues under control, b-"

"How?" Sun cut in. "What have you done? I'll do anything, if you have ideas."

Yang shifted to lie beside Sun, and folded her hands behind her head. "Well, going for runs is one, but given the bleeding right now, that's off the table. Meet me out here tonight, and we'll try something."

"That sounds… not insignificantly ominous," Sun joked.

"…meditation. It sounds lame, but trust me, it helps. It's helped a lot with not just losing my shit entirely at Blake, or Oz," Yang offered.

"Then I'll give it a shot," Sun said as he sat up. "For now, though, I'm gonna go ahead and shower, and then… maybe I'll take another shot at talking to Sage, with your ideas in mind."

"Take Neptune with you," Yang instructed. "For your sake, and Sage's."

"…yeah," Sun agreed as he stretched his arms up above his head. "Thanks, Yang. I'll meet you here tonight."

"You'd better," Yang warned jokingly as she shot him a wink.

Sun made his way back to the safe house, and stepped inside with a sigh. He began making his way down the hall toward his room when a vibration in his back pocket caught his attention. His heart leaped as he saw a message from Ilia, and he hurriedly tapped the screen to pull up the text.

 _Hey, big bro- I'm awake! Cinnamon and Jaune did some kind of healing voodoo and took care of some of the damage, but my arm's gonna take a while to mend. I still need to go for some testing and scans and shit, so you can't visit until later tonight. I'll keep you updated._

Sun's face broke out into a grin as he fired a text back.

 _I'll be there as soon as you say the word. Feel better!_

Satisfied that things were looking up, Sun stuffed his scroll back into his pocket and took confident strides toward his room. He opened the door and stepped inside, only to be greeted by the sight of a completely unclothed Neptune, standing in the middle of the room.

" _Dude!"_ Sun cried as he raised a hand to shield his eyes. "You are the _worst!_ "

"Not _my_ fault that you caught me while I was getting in the shower!" Neptune griped, making no effort to cover himself.

"Then lock the door, dumbass!" Sun responded as he turned away from the scene.

"…oh, yeah. I guess that's fair," Neptune mused. "How'd it go with Yang?"

"…oh my gods, get in the shower and we can talk _after!_ " Sun said in an exasperated tone. "You know what? Actually, I'll just leave, and come back in fifteen. You're unbelievable."

Without another word, Sun turned and disappeared back into the hallway. Neptune shrugged, and made his way into the bathroom while whistling to himself.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Next update on Saturday.

 **-RD**


	53. Desperate Times

"You sure you're alright, man?"

Sun paused halfway up the flight of steps to catch his breath, and leaned slightly into the railing.

" _Yeah_ , I've got this. Physically, and otherwise," Sun added. "My body is just starting to crumble apart, apparently. Few more days of rest, and I should be good."

"Too bad Professor Ozpin wants to make a plan tomorrow," Neptune reminded. "Though, he'd be insane to say something like 'alright everyone, we move out right now'. Here's hoping he gives you and Ilia time to recover."

"Here's hoping he plans on _including_ Ilia and I," Sun grumbled as he resumed his march up to the second floor. "If he tries to cut our team loose, I'm going to be _pissed_. Blake and I are a package deal, and you and Ilia come with me. Otherwise, we'll… I don't know. Support unofficially from the sidelines, I guess. Are you still in?"

Neptune scoffed, and moved to stand beside Sun at the top of the steps. "What kind of question is that? Of _course_ I'm still in! Team SIN isn't going to dissolve. We're in this for the long haul."

"…so that's really what we're going with, huh?" Sun asked.

"You got anything better?" Neptune teased, full of confidence.

"…shut up," Sun instructed as he made his way down the hall. "You're the worst. Though, I guess I should be thankful that you're _clothed_ , now."

"Says the guy who still hasn't found a new shirt," Neptune shot back.

"…I'm working on it," Sun replied as he approached the door. The wood was painted a deep blue, and the paint upon it was missing in several places. Sun raised his fist and took a deep breath, and then rapped his knuckles against it three times. Neither of the boys moved as they waited for almost a full minute before a reply came from inside.

" _Who is it? Rent's not due for another two days. I'm workin' on it."_

Sun cracked his neck and rocked onto his tiptoes a few times to stretch out. "Sage. We need to talk, face to face."

Neptune leaned in and whispered a reminder as Sun kept his eyes on the door. "If he takes a swing, I've got your back. If _you_ take a swing, you're on your own."

"Yeah, yeah," Sun replied softly. "I know. I'll keep my cool."

"Here's hoping," Neptune said as he leaned back over to stand straight.

" _Got nothin' to say to you. Get away from the door before I call the police. Mistrali cops don't like faunus, especially after what just went down at Haven."_

Sun took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. His right hand started to shake involuntarily, before he made it into a fist and closed his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere until you open the door and talk to me. I understand that you're upset, and you _should_ be, but doesn't almost a year of being a team at least buy me five minutes?"

" _I do like the idea of 'buying' five minutes. What've ya got on ya?"_ Sage asked through the door. Sun cursed to himself as he took out his wallet and began to dig through the mostly-empty folds.

"Hey, I'm here, too!" Neptune added. "Sun screwed us over, but at least open the door for me? You should hear him out. I think so, anyway."

Sun paused his inspection and waited as he held his breath. Moments later, the sound of a deadbolt being unlatched echoed in the empty hallway, and Sun put his wallet back in his shorts as he stepped back from the door. The wood pulled back to reveal a massive, dark skinned man with roman numerals tattooed around his neck in a circle. He wore black jeans and an indecipherable band shirt with a wild, nonsensical pattern of colors upon it. He also wore an expression sour enough to spoil milk.

"Alright, Neptune. _Just_ for you, I'll play along for a few minutes." Sage turned to look down at Sun with contempt. "You've got balls, coming here."

"Listen, Sage, I'm sorry f-"

"Sorry doesn't pay bills, or tuition for a new academy," Sage interrupted. "Do you know how many people in Vale or Mistral post jobs for teams of _three_ huntsmen? _None_. Do you know how rare duo postings are? Pretty damned rare. They're all shit like 'there's _a boar_ that comes around the back yard at night, take care of it', or 'we saw _one beowulf_ down in that valley'. You know what they have in common, Sun?"

"Considering your main concern right now, I'd say the pay is awful," Sun guessed as he crossed his arms.

Sage leaned against the doorframe and clapped twice, slowly. "Look at you. Maybe hanging around Blake for so long made you smarter. That's right- the pay is _shit_. Neptune and I barely got by, and we weren't even guaranteed a spot at Haven, next semester. Teams of two generally don't exist, because most leaders understand _commitment_."

Neptune shifted uncomfortably as Sun let out a low, frustrated noise. "I'll be honest- I didn't expect to be gone this long. I thought that I'd be able to convince Blake to turn around and rejoin her team, but I was wrong. _Very_ wrong. We ended up going all the way back to Menagerie, and her hometown of Kuo Kuana, before she would even start to listen to me. It was clear that she needed someone, and it was clear to _me_ that the three of you would be fine without me for a while. I… guess I was wrong."

"You guess you were wrong," Sage repeated. "Now _there's_ an understatement. I'm stuck in this shithole, and Scarlet up and left to gods know where."

"But that's just it," Neptune said as he shook his head. "We're _not_ fine without Sun. You and me, trying to keep this afloat… it's just not working. We can't go off on our own, relying on Haven to reshuffle us in the coming semester could screw us over, and we don't have any other options. Even if you don't like it, there's not much else we can really do. Why not give Sun a chance to make things right?"

"Because at the end of the day, that's just a second chance to make things _worse_ again," Sage explained. "He's burned me once for something that's of no concern to me, and he'll do it again the second he has an excuse."

"Sage, I know what I did was wrong," Sun began, only for Sage to hold out a hand for silence.

"Do you regret it?" he asked. Sun didn't answer, and looked down at his shoes. "I _said_ , do you regret it? Would you do it all over again, if you had the opportunity to change it?"

Sun deflated as he exhaled, admitting defeat. "…Sage, I'm learning more and more by the day that I'm a shitty person, alright? I don't need you to rub it in."

"Sun, you're n-" Neptune tried, only to be drowned out.

"What can I do _now_ to make it up to you? Even if you won't join us again, what can I do to make your life better? I owe you that, don't I? Even if I'm a total scumbag, I want to make good on my debts."

Sage made a show of pretending to mull it over, before he pushed off the doorframe and narrowed his eyes. "Tell you what. You want the good times back? You want to relive how it used to be on Team SSSN, where we got things done and shared some laughs along the way?"

"Yeah," Sun replied immediately. "I want to go back to that more than almost anything else. We also need you, man. You're strong, and a hell of a fighter. Things have escalated to be fate of the world material, at this point. So, come on. Don't you want those times back, too?"

Neptune tensed as Sage smiled. "Oh, I do… but 'fate of the world', is it? Then I guess my price just went up."

"Your… price?" Neptune repeated.

"That's right. You want muscle, and a wingman? _Pay me_. It's pretty clear that friendship didn't work for you, _leader_ , so if you want me around, I'll have to be formally hired. Cough up lien according to my contract, and I'm game. Come up short, and I walk. Can't get more fair than that," Sage finished with a sneer.

Neptune regarded Sage with an astonished look of contempt. "That's _disgusting_ , Sage! We're supposed to be _friends!"_

"A lot of things are 'supposed to be', but they aren't. I've got no problem with you, honestly, but _him?_ He's not the kind of friend I'd fight for. Not for free, anyway," Sage clarified.

Neptune scowled and shook his head as he began to turn away from the door. "Sun, I'm sorry we even wasted our time, here. Let's just go, a-"

"How much?"

Neptune stared at Sun, mouth agape. "…you can't be serious."

Sage chuckled, and looked Sun over. "400 lien a month."

Sun pulled a face as his tail swished behind him. "…300, and we cover food and housing, as it becomes available to the team."

" _Sun_ , what are you doing?" Neptune questioned as he clasped his hands to his skull.

"350, with all that. Final offer," Sage countered. Sun frowned and furrowed his brows. A small noise of irritation escaped his lips, before he took a deep breath and snorted.

"…fine. Done."

"And I want the first payment up front," Sage demanded as he offered a hand. Sun took it and shook. He yelped in pain as Sage squeezed against his bandaged burn, and hissed softly as he pulled back.

"It'll have to be digital, but fine. There's a briefing tomorrow at the safe house we're staying at. You _will_ be there," Sun instructed as he pulled out his scroll to transfer funds. Sage took out his own, and nodded as the transaction went through.

"Sure. Whatever you say, boss."

"Sending you the address now," Sun added as he tapped out a message. Sage watched his scroll, and nodded again as he received it.

"Mm-hmm. See you boys there."

Without another word, the giant man slammed the door closed, and Neptune just about tore his hair out.

" _What was that!?_ "

" _That_ was an example of 'desperate measures'," Sun explained. "I can keep him going for two months if need be, and if he keeps insisting after that, we cut him loose… or try to scrounge funds from the others, if we really need him," Sun said.

Neptune threw his hands up, and began to make his way toward the stairs. "Sun, you're cutting deals with the devil. That was a huge mistake. He's going to lord it over us so bad, and it's going to be so _embarrassing_ with the rest of the teams… oh, gods, we have no dignity left. You literally just bought us a friend."

"Would you can it? Seriously, I'm doing the best I can!" Sun replied as he tapped out another message on his scroll, his fingers hitting the screen a bit harder than normal. "I think that after he travels with us for a bit, we'll get the old Sage back. He'll start to feel bad and come around, over time. We haven't lost him entirely."

"I hope you're right," Neptune said with a skeptical air. "I mean, I trust you, but… this feels so wrong. So, so wrong."

"Yeah, it does," Sun agreed. "But at least I didn't beat the shit out of him."

"That is a plus," Neptune offered as they made their way out of the building. "You feeling alright? You seemed pretty calm, for most of that."

"Yeah," Sun answered quickly. "Yeah, I'm good. Hey, are you up for visiting Ilia? She's awake, and should be available soon."

"Of course! Annoying her just brightens my day, you know," Neptune confessed with a cheesy grin.

"I bet it does," Sun replied. He moved to catch up to Neptune and walk beside him as they made their way onto the sidewalk. On the side opposite of his friend, Sun's hand twitched, before he balled it into a fist once again.

* * *

"Not much farther, now. Remember to be on your best behavior. Who knows who might be watching?"

Scarlet kept his eyes on the strange man in front of him as he began to ascend the steps in silence. His boots clacked against the obsidian surfaces as he made his way forward, only to stop in front of the massive door. The man ahead of him threw open the portal, before turning to face Scarlet with an unhinged smile.

"What's the matter? Losing your _nerve?"_

"Not quite," Scarlet retorted as he crossed his arms. "I just wasn't expecting… a literal _castle_ , when you started talking about 'your queen'. Isn't it a little odd?"

The lanky, crazed looking man before Scarlet erupted into a fit of giggles, before breaking out into an unnaturally wide grin. "Oh, new friend, _everything_ here is odd. You'll get used to it… if you want to live."

Scarlet waved a hand as he rested the other on his hip, clearly unimpressed. "Spare me the theatrics, Tyrian. Just tell me what I need to know, and when I get to meet this 'queen'."

"Oh, you'll have to aim a little lower than that, at first. She only meets with those who have proven their loyalty and worthiness, as is her right," Tyrian informed as he began to lead Scarlet down the hall. He seemed to nearly dance as he went, his metallic tail scraping gleefully against the walls and scouring the stonework.

"…I've proven that I can hold my own in combat, and so long as the pay is decent, I plan to stick around. What more do you want from me?" Scarlet asked as he looked on.

"It's not about what _I_ want. It's what's best for her. You'll be stuck in a little corner, far away from anything important, until you get your hands sufficiently _dirty_ for us. Then, and _only_ then will you be given a seat amongst the ones here who have any significance," Tyrian explained. " _If_ you survive that long," he added while lowering his voice to a more threatening tone.

Scarlet rolled his eyes as he followed Tyrian around a corner. "Survival is my specialty."

Tyrian only laughed again as he spun into an abrupt stop. The metal tip of his tail shot forth for Scarlet's neck, and stopped inches from the exposed flesh. Scarlet stopped just in time and threw up his hands defensively, though he was too slow to block what would have been a lethal strike.

"Do you think you're the _first_ wannabe, faceless glory-seeker I've heard say those words? You're not even the first this _month_ , kid. To be completely honest… I've already forgotten your name!" Tyrian shrieked with a smile, and then another wild cackle. Scarlet batted the metal appendage to the side as he wrinkled his nose and blew his fringe of hair out from its place over one of his eyes.

"It's _Scarlet_. Scarlet David."

Tyrian's eyes widened as he reeled his tail in, only to curl it around his waist. He allowed his mouth to gape in simulated amazement as he made an awed noise.

"Scarlet… _the_ Scarlet David? The little boy who ran into a group of very bad people, and got himself killed by thinking he was more important than he is? Is that the one?" Tyrian mocked.

Scarlet scowled. "I'll get you results. Just give me a chance."

"You'll have it, soon enough," Tyrian said enigmatically as he gestured toward a hallway. "Your room is the third door on the left. Make yourself at home, but don't get _too_ comfortable. You'll probably be sent to Atlas, soon."

"Right. Do bad things to people on high horses. Sounds like a party," Scarlet lilted as he made his way past Tyrian and toward the door.

"…oh, I'm starting to like you. Let's hope you don't break as easily as the last few. Sleep tight," Tyrian offered with a small wave, before disappearing around another corner.

Scarlet shook his head, and sighed heavily before wiping his hair back with his hand. A sudden odd, gurgling noise caused goosebumps to manifest along his arms and neck, and he whirled while looking around for the source.

"H-hello…?" Scarlet called out into the darkened hall. The sound continued, and grew fainter over time as he squinted to locate the source. He came up with nothing, and went into a full-body shiver as he quickly pushed his way through the door and into the bedroom.

"I _really_ hope this isn't a mistake."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I was going to save some of this for the literal final chapter, but I want to put a few things out there right now. It feels like a good time to do so.

-I made another 'roadmap' for what is going to happen in each chapter. As of this moment, Chapter 57 is already written, and I'm working through this story as quickly as I can. I didn't do this out of boredom with the story, any kind of schedule frustration, or anything like that- I did this to figure out when the "ending" is roughly going to happen, in order to better plan future stories and whatnot. If things pan out as I'm hoping, Chapter 63 or 64 will be the "last" chapter. I'm dropping this announcement now because...

-Multiple people brought up Sun's anger in the reviews of the last chapter, and the way that he's dealing with it. Believe me, it was never going to be a one-and-done ordeal, or something brushed aside as he starts to "feel better" due to Blake giving him smooches. Ghira's death had a major impact on him, and the extent of that is only just starting to manifest in the form of his irrational, ugly rage episodes. This won't even be fully addressed by the time the "ending" hits, because...

-As some of you may have guessed by now, due to a few offhand comments I've made and consistently referring to "the ending" or "last" chapter in quotes, this story is not _really_ ending at whatever number it ends at. I have a set point that the story will go _on hiatus_ until the entirety of Volume 7 is released, and then this story will begin updating again immediately afterward. I fully intend to keep What You Stole going alongside canon, as a sort of 'what if' alternate timeline, had Sun, Neptune, and Ilia stuck around, while cherry picking certain events from Volume 7 and weaving my own content into there. This story is going to go all the way to the finale of RWBY as a whole, with lots of major things changed around and the focus kept upon SINS, Kali, and Cinnamon. All of the plot threads brought up thus far will _not_ just be abandoned/glossed over, and some things from canon itself (such as Cordovin...) won't show up until later, while others will be resolved by the end of Volume 6. I've got plans. _Big_ plans.

-Finally, on a less huge note- since people seem to love Neptune being a nudist with no concept of tact or personal space, I figured I'd share a little about how he gained those traits. The main inspiration for the Sun/Neptune dynamic is absolutely Scott Pilgrim and Wallace Wells, from the Scott Pilgrim comics/film. It's how I've always imagined things would work in their dorm, and the thought of Neptune having a bit of Wallace in him is too entertaining to pass up.

Next update on Tuesday.

 **-RD**


	54. Reunion

"Hey, _hey!_ Slow down, Sun! You're going to pull something again! You're not in good shape right now!"

"Sorry, sorry," Sun acquiesced as he slowed his gait through the halls of the hospital. Neptune sped up to reach his side, and rested a hand upon his shoulder.

"She's not going anywhere just yet, so it's not like you'll miss her. Keep it together, man," Neptune said with a look of understanding.

"I know, I'm just… excited. _Really_ excited. I want to see her smile, and… just be _awake_. We've got a thing going on," Sun admitted as he led Neptune around a corner and toward Ilia's room.

"Wait, a _thing?_ " Neptune asked. "Not like… a side-chick thing, right?"

Sun stopped in his tracks, and resisted the swelling urge to smack his friend over the head with the bouquet in his hand. " _No!_ Besides, she's not into dudes!"

"Oh… oh, yeah. My bad," Neptune admitted as they resumed their march. Sun shook his head with a sigh as they reached Ilia's door, and he raised a fist to knock against the wood. Neptune shifted his weight as he crossed his arms and looked at their surroundings.

"You think she's still in for tests and whatnot?"

"Gods, I hope not. I mean, I'll gladly wait, but… I don't want to lose the feeling I've got right now," Sun said.

"…Blake ever text you back?" Neptune asked with a hint of hesitance in his voice.

"…no," Sun replied, with much the same. He frowned slightly, but his lips turned up immediately as a familiar face opened the door.

Ilia stood with a slightly hunched posture, and her left arm in a cast. She wore a light blue hospital gown, and beyond her tired expression and arm, seemed to have made progress toward recovering.

"…hey, big bro."

"Hey, little sis," Sun returned as he scooped Ilia into a gentle hug. He squeezed tighter as time went on, until her face was mashed into his chest and she tilted her chin to look up at him.

"…the hell happened to your nose?"

Sun heaved a massive sigh and broke the hug as he self-consciously put a hand on the back of his neck. "You just _had_ to ruin it, didn't you?"

"It's kinda my thing," Ilia said with a wry smile as she turned to look at Neptune. " _Speaking_ of ruining things…"

Neptune rolled his eyes, and offered Ilia a small smile. "If anything, I'm saving _him_ from ruining it. It's nice to see you, Ilia. Really."

Ilia's cocksure expression faltered as Neptune approached and offered her a hug as well. She looked away slightly as he wrapped her in a leather-clad embrace, before ruffling her hair and stepping back.

"It's great to see both of you, honestly. It feels like I've been out forever, but also… like the attack on Haven just happened. Come on in," Ilia offered as she made her way back inside the room. Sun was the first to follow, and he offered her the bouquet. She gratefully accepted it, before giving the flowers a sniff.

"I know it's probably stupid, but I felt like I should," Sun said sheepishly.

"And _I_ helped him figure out what to get you. Blue periwinkle for friendship, and monkshood for health," Neptune added.

" _Wow_ ," Ilia commented as she set the flowers upon the bedside table, next to Cinnamon's. "You _would_ know flower meanings."

"It's all part of the charm," Neptune replied with a small bow. Ilia merely shook her head, and moved to sit on the edge of the hospital bed.

"So, how long _was_ I out?"

Sun sat across from Ilia in his usual chair, while Neptune took up position on the window sill.

"This is day three. I… kinda stayed with you, for most of it," Sun informed.

"And didn't eat, sleep, or shower, like some kind of incredibly concerned barbarian," Neptune added helpfully.

"That explains the gross stubble. You _need_ to shave, Sun. Seriously. Facial hair looks awful on you," Ilia said. "It's like a teenager who can't grow a beard trying to look like a farmhand."

" _Thanks_. Any other physical deficits you feel like pointing out today?" Sun asked as his tail flicked in annoyance.

Ilia pretended to ponder the question, and then shook her head. "No, I think that about covers it. But… seriously. Thank you, for… for everything. You probably saved my life… and I don't just mean the tree, either."

Sun merely looked Ilia over as she stared back, neither quite sure what to say. Neptune gave the pair an anxious look, and pressed his palms down into the window sill.

"…should I get out of here, for a bit? Let you two talk privately?"

Ilia shifted slightly and backed herself up along the bed to sit closer to the pillow and get a good view of both boys. "No. I'm not ashamed to say that, or anything else about Sun, in front of you. I mean it."

"Ilia…" Sun began, only for her to cut him off.

"I'm serious! More than even Cinnamon, you've been here for me, giving me opportunities and second chances I never deserved. I want you to know that even if I come off as a bitch sometimes, I notice and appreciate it. You're my hero, Sun," Ilia finished.

Sun shot a quick glance to Neptune, and found him sitting quietly as he offered only a small nod.

"I… Ilia, I don't know what to say to that," Sun admitted.

"Then don't say anything. Just accept it," she advised as she slid backward to rest her head on the pillow. "That would be good enough for me."

Sun experienced an entire range of emotions as he nodded, and pulled his scroll from his pocket to distract himself. A message from Blake awaited on the screen, and his heart skipped a beat as he opened it and read.

 _Where are you?_

Sun replied as quickly as he could, and held his breath.

 _Ilia's room at the hospital. She's awake. What's going on? Are you okay?_

The device vibrated as a reply came in, and Sun's stomach twisted into knots.

 _I am now. Long story. See you in ten._

"…you don't look happy," Ilia pointed out from her position atop the bed.

"Blake's on her way here. Something's wrong," he warned as he pocketed his scroll. "She didn't give specifics, but she's acting weird. I'm worried."

"Or, best case scenario, she could be trying to surprise you with something," Neptune interjected.

"Yeah, like a shirt. Seriously, Sun?" Ilia added.

"I have a huge bandage on my side, alright? And besides, I like a nice breeze! Is that a crime?" he asked as he let out a breath through his nose. His chest began to tighten a bit as he felt a quick pulse of anger, and stood up to begin pacing. "I'll get a shirt tomorrow. I promise."

"Yeah, that'd probably be a good idea, considering the meeting coming up," Neptune reminded. "Speaking of- Ilia, do you know when you'll be discharged?"

Ilia offered a slow nod as Sun finally stopped and braced his hands against the rail at the foot of her bed. "They said I could go home tomorrow morning, after they monitor me tonight. What meeting is this?"

"Ozpin… well, Oscar… Ozpin is the head of Beacon Academy, and he's got some kind of weird r-"

"I know who Ozpin is," Ilia interrupted. "Cinnamon told me everything Weiss told you, before she left. I'm caught up on what's going on with him, and the relics."

"Well, _that_ simplifies things," Sun said with a sigh of relief. "He wants to hash out a plan with us, Team RWBY, Team JNR, and this Qrow guy that I still haven't met. If you're well enough, you should definitely come."

Neptune shifted uncomfortably, and Sun gave him a look. "Out with it."

"…should this Cinnamon person come, too? She sounds pretty important."

"Yes. _Absolutely_ ," Ilia answered as Sun raised a brow.

"I… yeah, I guess she really should, if she's gonna be helping us. Ilia, I'll leave contacting her to you. Ozpin might not be happy, but honestly, I don't care. We need all the help we can get," Sun said.

"Yeah, we do. I gotta ask, though… what's Weiss like? Is she as awful as I expect her to be?" Ilia asked as she took her scroll from the bedside table and began to tap out a text.

"Weiss Schnee is a perfect, if slightly frigid angel, and I will hear nothing of your accusations," Neptune answered as he hopped off the window sill.

"…he wants to bone her," Sun clarified as he folded his arms and leaned over the railing. "Real bad."

Neptune scoffed and put a hand to his chest in mock offense. "Excuse me, I want to _love_ her. Passionately."

"That is… all sorts of gross. The less I think about you and anything to do with sex, the longer I'll probably live," Ilia said as she looked up from her scroll. "So yeah, she _must_ be a total asshole if _you're_ attracted to her."

"As much fun as bagging on Neptune is, let me step in real quick," Sun said. "Weiss _is_ a good person. She was just born into bad circumstances, not unlike some other people you know, Ilia. Weiss is a Schnee in name only, and she actually came here to check up on me while I was watching over you. She practically tripped over herself to apologize for looking down on the faunus before, and she wants to stay friends."

"Well, that's good enough for me," Ilia said with a quick nod.

"See? _Angel_ ," Neptune stated again with confidence. Ilia rolled her eyes, and set her scroll aside.

"Still gross. Cinnamon will be there, tomorrow. She apparently already knows where you guys are staying," Ilia informed.

" _Shocking_ ," Sun replied. "She seems to know just about everything, when it suits her."

"That just makes her good at her job. Speaking of," Ilia added as the door opened once again.

Blake Belladonna strode into the room with purpose, and took a quick look around to survey the people inside before closing the door behind herself. Her hair was a messy nest of greasy strands, her clothes were rumpled and dirty, and she had bags under her eyes. Sun stood from his leaning position and immediately rushed to put his hands on her hips as she threw her arms around him.

"Blake! What happened? You look terrible…"

"Yes, well, that's what happens after spending a night in jail," she explained as she pulled back from the embrace. The room went silent as Neptune's mouth fell agape, and Ilia raised a brow. Sun merely looked Blake over, and tried to focus more on her words than his perpetual headache.

"You… _what?_ "

Blake ran a hand through her messy hair and moved to sit down in Sun's chair as he took up the spot next to her.

"Well… Mom and I spoke to a bunch of higher-ups in the police department about the Black Claw. They _really_ don't like where this is all going, especially after the attack on Haven, and they're resisting us pretty hard. Two days ago, Mom and I stayed in a hotel so that we could just go back and forth and work on negotiations. Yesterday, the cops started to get aggressive, and we were detained overnight while they ran an investigation as to whether or not we were involved in the attempted assault on Haven. That's why I haven't been answering you. They took my scroll."

"They can just… _do_ that?" Neptune asked in disbelief.

"They can do whatever the hell they want. We're just _faunus_ , after all," Ilia sneered as she waved a hand dismissively.

Sun's scowl deepened as he listened, and his voice became laced with ice. "…they literally threw you in jail because you're a faunus."

Blake frowned as she put her hand atop Sun's, and tried to soothe him with her voice. "Yes, but I'm fine, now. It's been taken care of, a-"

"That's not the point!" Sun cut in. "That's _disgusting!_ "

Ilia nodded her agreement as Blake shook her head. "Sun, Haven was _just_ attacked, and we could have been involved."

"Yeah, and if Haven had been attacked by humans, would they have started just detaining random humans in Mistral, who tried to help? No? Then why did they detain _you?_ " Sun pressed. Blake fell silent as Neptune rubbed at the side of his face. Ilia leaned forward in bed, and looked over to Blake.

" _This_ kind of shit is exactly why the White Fang still exists. This is what it was _supposed_ to be about, and prevent. Adam perverted it, but Cinnamon's going to put us back on track. You can't tell me that the system works as it is, Blake."

"I never said it did!" Blake retorted. "It's just no use getting angry over it when it's done, and we have other things to worry about!"

"It may be no use, but I _am_ angry," Sun seethed. "And once we get everything else sorted, I want answers."

"Trust me, I do, too, but we need to be peaceful about it. We need to show them that we _can_ interact civilly and belong in society. What you're doing right now is exactly the kind of thing that's going to cause them not to listen," Blake warned.

"And what _am_ I doing?" Sun spat.

Blake pressed her lips to Sun's cheek in a gentle kiss, before pulling back. "You're shaking. You're working yourself up into something you're just barely keeping contained, and letting it all get to you. I need you to calm down, Sun, before this escalates. There's nothing we can do about it right now."

Sun pulled a face at the accusation, as Ilia gave him a pointed look.

"Anger is a useful tool, especially in situations like this. It's a great motivator. Let him be pissed, if he's pissed."

Suddenly, Sun stood up and let his arm slip from Blake's grasp.

"I… don't feel so good. I think I need some air."

Neptune nodded, and made his way over to Sun to clasp a hand around his arm.

"You need food, water, and sleep, too. How about I stay with Ilia for a few more hours, and you and Blake go cuddle it up for a bit? You could both use some rest."

Blake stood as well, and offered Neptune a nod and contented smile. "That would be very much appreciated, right about now."

"Yeah," Sun agreed. He moved over to Ilia to give her another small hug and kiss on the cheek. She repeated the gesture with Blake, before reclining back into her pillow.

"Even _I_ can see that Neptune's right. Get some rest, you two, and I'll meet up with you tomorrow."

"Will do. Heal quickly, Ilia," Sun said as he looped an arm around Blake's waist. His hand spasmed as he rested it upon her hip, and he bit his bottom lip.

"See you two. We'll make this all work, somehow," Blake added as she and Sun exited the room and entered the hallway. Without missing a beat, she turned herself to face Sun fully. "Are you alright? Seriously."

"You know I'm not," Sun replied. "The extent, though… we'll cover that tomorrow. For tonight, can we just rest, and enjoy each other's company? I've missed you a lot."

"I've missed you, too. Come on. Let's go get cleaned up," Blake offered as she took his hand. Sun allowed her to guide him down the hall, and took several deep breaths to calm himself along the way.

* * *

Almost immediately upon returning to their room within the safe house, Blake rolled off her dress shirt and tossed it upon the bed. Sun locked the door behind them with his tail, while he used his hands to finish sending a message on his scroll.

"There. Neptune's gonna have to room with someone else tonight. This one's all ours."

"I almost feel bad," Blake replied as she stretched her arms behind herself. "But then again… it's been too long since we've been able to just… _cuddle_ , you know? Away from everyone, doing our own thing."

"Trust me, I do know. I think that might be part of what's wrong, lately," Sun agreed as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Blake reached around herself and undid her bra before flinging it off atop the sheets and turning to face Sun without a care in the world.

"Maybe… but I'm still worried about you. _Really_ worried, if I'm honest. You can't let this build up and keep eating away at you, Sun. It's not healthy. We've got to break through this, and _you've_ got to lean on me."

Sun hesitated for only a moment before standing and approaching Blake, to take her hand. "I know. After we make this big plan with the others, we'll… get into it. Are you getting in the shower…?" he asked before giving her a peck on the lips.

"I am. Sorry for being so… quick about stripping down without warning," Blake said with a smirk.

"Oh, you don't need to apologize. It's kinda nice," Sun joked as a pink tint took up residence on his cheeks. He looked down as he felt Blake's hands near his waist, and found her undoing his belt.

"It is, isn't it? You know, I really don't mind being like this, around you. I trust you, Sun. More than anyone else," Blake said as she let his buckle come undone. Sun froze for a moment, before stepping out of his shoes and allowing his shorts to fall to the carpet in order to stand in his boxers before her. A whole new kind of tension coursed through his body as his own shaky hands found their way to Blake's belt, and he began slowly undoing it.

"…and you're sure this is… something you want, right now? Because before, there were times that… well, you would do things like this, and…"

"I know," Blake interrupted. "This is different. Go ahead," she encouraged as she, too stepped out of her footwear. Sun slowly and carefully lowered her pants to the floor, revealing her small black thong. His breath hitched as he stood straight once again and looked Blake over in her almost fully unclothed state.

"You… you really are beautiful, Blake," Sun managed to say with a hard swallow. She smiled, and moved forward to press into Sun's chest. Blake rested her cheek against his skin for a moment, before planting a heavy kiss on the side of his neck.

"Thanks, Sun. You're incredibly handsome. Care to join me?"

Sun felt his brain start to melt as Blake pressed her chest to his and looked up at him.

"Join you? Like… um, i-in… the shower?"

"…in the shower," Blake confirmed as she stepped back. Without so much as another word, she rolled off her thong and used her foot to place it atop the fallen pile of clothing, leaving nothing to Sun's imagination.

Sun's cheeks burned and his breathing quickened. He found himself unable to tear his gaze from Blake's body as the tip of his tail spasmed wildly behind him. Finally, he looked at the floor and grasped the waistband of his boxers before pulling them down and following suit to discard them atop his shorts. When he was finished, he looked back to Blake and offered her a nervous smile. Her own held far more confidence, and a genuine adoration as she looked him over.

"…so. This is us," she commented.

"I… y-yeah, this is… I guess this is us, isn't it? Like, the 'us' that nobody else gets to see…?" Sun tried as his tail curled itself around one of his calves.

"Exactly," Blake replied with a nod. "It's okay to be uncomfortable, but… I _adore_ you, Sun. Even if there was something embarrassing about you, and…" Blake chuckled as her eyes flicked downward for a brief moment, " _trust_ me, you've got nothing to be embarrassed about, I wouldn't judge you. Let's get used to this, one step at a time. If you're ready."

Sun let out a nervous laugh at Blake's comment, and ran a hand through his hair. "I uh, yeah! I'm… I'm totally ready. I could… you know, get used to this."

"Well, then let's go and get started," Blake offered as she approached and took his hand. "Get my back?"

"Of course," Sun said with a nod. Blake offered him a smile, and he returned it as he led her to the shower, his tail swishing all the way.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

"So you mean to tell me this story will end when RWBY officially ends as a series?"

Not necessarily, but in a good way- if RWBY ever just fizzles out without getting a proper ending, I'll continue beyond that. What You Stole **will** get a full resolution, regardless of whether or not canon does. The only reason I'm waiting on Volume 7 to release before writing the WYS version is to see what moves Rooster Teeth has up its sleeves in terms of setting for Atlas and flow of events. Speaking of flow of events, I should probably let some people down gently now- Cordovin and the Apathy grimm will not be in this story's version of Volume 6... but they will absolutely show up in the future. Cordovin will likely show up in 7 or 8, here, and as for the Apathy, I have a few different ideas that I'll continue to refine as time goes on. They'll likely be playing a bigger role, here, and may show up somewhere different than the farm.

Next update on Friday. It's one of the longest chapters thus far, and hugely important for the direction of the rest of Volume 6 and potentially 7.

 **-RD**


	55. Baiting the Trap

"So, there's… Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Jaune… is it… Nina?"

"Nora," Sun corrected automatically as he adjusted Ghira's pauldron atop the deep purple silken fabric of his shirt. "Close, though."

Ilia made a slight face as she followed along, and shook her head. "Nora. Right. Ren… and then obviously Neptune, and _… Sage_."

"Sage, yeah. He's… coming along with us. It wasn't easy to convince him, but be nice. He _can_ be a good guy," Sun added as he made his way along the cobblestone road.

"And that just leaves the adults. Ozpin is a given, and so is Cinnamon. The guy who owns the house is… shit…"

"Qrow," Sun finished for her. "I still haven't even met him, actually, but not bad. Not bad at all. You'll fit right in… I hope."

"Since when do I _ever_ fit in?" Ilia asked with a weary sigh.

"Since you met me. You fit in perfectly with Blake and I, and Neptune likes you well enough. That's something, right?" Sun asked as the yard of the safe house came into view, with two figures standing near the walkup.

"It's certainly something, yeah. Neptune was honestly a total sweetheart last night, but if you _ever_ tell him I said that, I'll kill you. I'm guessing that's Sage, standing next to him?" Ilia asked as she wrinkled her nose.

"That's Sage, alright. Tall, dark, and annoyed. Regardless of that, he's part of our team, now, so… make the best of it. I'm just glad he showed," Sun admitted as they approached the pair. Neptune gave them a hearty wave and cheesy grin as they walked up.

"Hey, girl! Long time no see!"

"It hasn't even been 24 hours, you turd," Ilia spat as she rolled her eyes. Sage completely ignored Sun as he turned to face Ilia, and offered a massive hand.

"Sage Ayana. You're Ilia, yeah?"

" _Yeah_ ," Ilia replied as she grasped his hand. She added a bit more force to the shake than necessary, and Sage let out an amused chuckle.

"I like her already. She's got a spine."

"Yeah, she does," Neptune added. "Welcome back to Team SINS, Ilia. We're glad to have you with us."

Sun brought his bandaged hand to his face and wiped it downward at the statement, before shaking his head. "Still the worst name ever. Anyway, should we wait out here for Cinnamon, or just head inside? I don't want to be the only ones late."

Ilia took out her scroll and checked it, before shaking her head. "She _should_ be here waiting for us, but… I don't know. I guess we should head inside? She knows we're meeting, so if she comes late, she can just walk in, I guess?"

"I guess," Sun agreed. "Ladies first."

Ilia walked up the steps with Sage in tow, while Neptune and Sun remained on the grass for a moment. Neptune tapped Sun twice on the shoulder, before leaning in to whisper in his ear.

"So, did you and Blake have sex last night?"

Sun immediately recoiled away from Neptune as his cheeks began to burn. "What!? _No!_ And I wouldn't tell you if we did!" Sun retorted in a low, breathy whisper.

Neptune's mouth fell open in shock. "You _wouldn't?_ But I'm your wingman!"

"What part of 'boundaries' is so foreign to you? Wingman or not, what Blake and I do and don't do with each other is our business. Not yours," Sun hissed with a sense of finality as he and Neptune began to climb the steps.

"You are… pretty much the least fun person on the planet, right now. Just saying," Neptune accused as they entered the house.

"Give me my medal later. For now, get your head in the game, man. This is big stuff. _Really_ big stuff," Sun warned as they followed Ilia and Sage into the living room. Sun's eyes widened and he blinked several times as he caught sight of not only Cinnamon standing on one side of the room, but another unexpected figure among the throng of people taking up the couches.

" _Kali?_ " he asked with a genuine smile.

"Hey there," she replied with a small wave.

Blake nodded from her place on the couch between her team members. "I thought it would benefit us all to have Mom here, so I invited her."

Sun nodded, and did a visual sweep of the rest of the people present. Team RWBY occupied one couch together, while Qrow stood next to a reclining chair. Oscar Pine was sat within it, looking pensive and holding his cane, as Team JNR had crammed themselves onto a small loveseat across from RWBY. Finally, Kali stood at Ozpin's other side, while Cinnamon faced her, arms folded, from across the coffee table. Team SINS assembled next to her, and Oscar smirked as his eyes flashed a brilliant green and his intonation became businesslike.

"Well, that does indeed seem to be everyone… unexpected, but most welcome company included."

"Now, hold on a minute, here," Qrow said as he looked around the room with a critical eye. "Not only has this gotten to be a pretty cumbersome crew, but _I_ personally don't know a few of you. Issues with the nature of the information we're going to be discussing aside, I doubt I'm the only one."

"He ain't wrong," Sage said as he folded his arms across his chest. "I've met some of you in passing, and some of you… I've got no idea."

"Well, there's a simple fix," Ruby said as she leaned forward. She rested her elbows upon her crossed legs and balled her hands under her chin as her eyes twinkled with enthusiasm. "Let's go around the room and introduce ourselves!"

Cinnamon's mouth quickly turned into a tight line at the girl's voice. "Sure. Then, maybe we can share what we did over summer break, and one interesting fact about ourselves, as well. Does it even matter? We all have a stake in this, and from the sounds of it, we're all in on protecting these relics and keeping them away from Salem."

Qrow blew out a tense breath and reached into his vest to grab for his flask. "Why the _hell_ does she know about not only the relics, but _Salem_ … and who even is that?"

"Why doesn't _everyone_ know about both the relics, _and_ Salem?" Yang seethed as she glared daggers at Oscar.

" _Stop_. Everyone, stop," Kali commanded as she made a 'T' symbol with her hands. "This isn't going to work if we don't get familiar, and clear the air. I'm with the little one. Team captains, introduce your crews, and then we'll pick up from there?"

Ruby quite literally leapt at the chance, gesturing enthusiastically to each member of her team. "I'm Ruby Rose, and this is Team RWBY! Weiss Schnee! But not in a bad way, in an awesome way! She's pretty cool, despite what some of you might assume by looking at her."

" _Hey!_ "

"Next up is B-"

"Blake Belladonna. I'm pretty sure I'm the _only_ common thread between everyone here, in some small way. We can introduce ourselves, Ruby," she added as she rolled her eyes.

"…aw, you're no fun," Ruby mumbled as she slouched over. After a heavy sigh, she flopped back onto the couch in a huff and crossed her arms.

"Yang Xiao Long. I've got nothing else to say, for now," Yang finished for her team as she gave the unfamiliar people around her a small wave.

"Right," Jaune said as he let out a weary exhale. "I'm Jaune Arc, leader of Team JNR. This here i-"

" _Noraaaaaaaaaaaa_ Valkyrie!" the girl next to Jaune announced as she flung herself off the couch and spread her arms victoriously.

"…Lie Ren. Please, call me Ren," her partner added with the smallest of nods. "And _please_ , Nora, sit down. You're embarrassing us."

Nora did as asked while Sun cracked his neck.

"Sun Wukong, leader of SINS. I… guess you should all know that Blake and I are a thing, if you didn't?"

" _Oh my god, they're totally a thing! Called it!_ " Nora 'whispered' loudly into Ren's ear as he closed his eyes and held his head. Sun blushed as Nora smirked mischievously. "That's _hot_."

Blake buried her face in her hands as several pairs of eyes trained themselves upon her. "…can we just continue, please?"

"Ilia Amitola. I… knew Blake, growing up. Practically lived with her, after I lost my parents in a dust mining accident. I'm pretty familiar with Adam Taurus, since I used to be a member of the White Fang. Now, I'm on Team SINS," she finished as she gave a hesitant glance over to Cinnamon. The woman narrowed her eyes and glared through Ilia in a silent fury at the words as she crossed her arms.

"Yeah, so, Neptune Vasilias. Sun's wingman. I ride or die for our team… and any cute, single ladies in the room," Neptune said as he shot Weiss a wink. She merely rolled her eyes skyward and huffed, as Sage stepped forward slightly and thumped a fist against his chest.

"Sage Ayana. I'm with Neptune."

Sun scowled at the introduction, though he was silently thankful for the lack of context.

Kali moved to lean over the back of Team RWBY's couch, and ruffled her daughter's hair to get her to stop staring at the floor. Blake scoffed in protest and squirmed out from under the playful hand, only for Kali to smile wickedly.

"Kali Belladonna. Blake's mother, and leader of the Black Claw, a budding organization of faunus focused on _peaceful_ protest, awareness, and progress."

Cinnamon merely shook her head as all eyes fell upon her. She spoke in a venomous tone, and kept her eyes locked on Kali. "…Cinnamon Shoal. _High Leader_ of the White Fang. Things will be different moving forward, and we are no threat to all of you. If I hadn't thrown my lot in with… 'Team SINS', Haven Academy would be in ruins. So, whatever opinions you have about me, or my organization… keep them to yourselves, for tonight. _That_ can be dealt with later."

Qrow turned his skeptical gaze from Cinnamon to Sun. "Is that true, Sun?"

"Completely. She and Ilia working together are what stopped Adam from detonating explosives planted around the school," he answered. "I know 'White Fang' sounds bad, and in some ways, _it is_ , but… Cinnamon's a friend. We _need_ her."

Qrow took a long pull from his flask, and then made a noise of discomfort. "Then that's good enough for me, for one night. Qrow Branwen. Ozpin's right hand man, and owner of this house."

"And that leaves me. I am Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy, though…" he paused and his eyes flickered once again, before the small boy lurched forward in his seat and gasped for breath. "Could you warn me before you do that!?"

Oscar shook his head and looked at the faces around the room. He settled on looking at Kali, who seemed fairly confused and concerned.

"I'm… also Oscar Pine. I used to live on a farm with my aunt, but… Professor Ozpin lives inside of my mind, now. I guess you could say I'm his… _host_." Without another word, his eyes flared once again, and the cadence of his voice returned to what it had been before. "That should clarify things, somewhat."

"…somewhat," Kali agreed. "How do we even go about discussing things? There are a lot of issues on the table."

"Simple," Cinnamon replied. "No matter _what_ happens, my primary focus is reinventing the White Fang according to my vision. Because of that, I won't be traveling with you, or even interacting with most of you after tonight. Let me tell you all my next steps, and then I'll just listen in before determining how to support your cause from the sidelines."

Qrow took another drink, and looked down to Ozpin, who nodded slowly.

"Very well, Miss Shoal. You have the floor."

"It's pretty simple, really. I, and the Fang in the surrounding areas still loyal to me," she said with an annoyed glance at Kali, "are returning to the White Fang main encampment in Mistral. There, I will formally take the mantle of High Leader, before publicly denouncing Adam Taurus and all of his actions while he was in that position. Given that he and I used to be lovers, I still have his contact information… and I took the liberty of misleading him, after he ran from Haven. I told him that you all were setting out for Vacuo within a matter of days, and he's already begun moving in that direction. I plan to have authorities meet him along the way, and take care of him for us. By that point, it will be far too late for him to do anything about my deception, and he'll be either behind bars or dead, if he's stupid enough to resist. After that, I'll be sending messengers out to all major cities to clarify the new direction for the White Fang, and establish our foothold in the global scale of power."

Ozpin merely nodded as he slowly rotated his cane back and forth. "Removal of Adam Taurus from any position to support Salem is indeed very helpful. I know for a fact that he has had dealings with her, and the now deceased Cinder Fall. While I hesitate to celebrate the continued forward progress of the White Fang… you've done good work thus far, Miss Shoal."

"Is that everything?"

All eyes turned to Yang as she searched Cinnamon's face.

"…what do you mean?" Cinnamon asked.

"Is that _everything?_ " Yang pressed through clenched teeth. "I'm getting really tired of people who think they're better than us 'kids' holding back information and making excuses later. I don't know you, so I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt based on Sun's word alone. If you _are_ hiding something, I'm going to be pissed, later."

"Yes. That's everything. Ball's in your court," Cinnamon said with a nod.

"I know it probably doesn't mean much," Ilia stated, "but I'll vouch for her, too. We can trust Cin."

"Noted," Qrow offered as he gestured his flask outward. "Anyone else wanna say anything, before Oz gets into the specifics of the plan? That's our priority right now."

"Nothing that can't wait," Kali said from behind the couch. "Go ahead."

Oscar stood from his chair and braced his cane against the floor as he looked around the room. "This… is not necessarily something that the majority of you are going to want to hear, but it is the truth. Our safest bet at the moment would be to bring the relic of knowledge to Atlas, and house it within the academy there. Between the Atlesian military, the fighters assembled here, students, and fortifications of the academy itself, the school is the best place to put the relic in order to protect it. However, traveling as a party of _fourteen_ is hardly inconspicuous. Some of you will not be joining us on the road ahead."

" _What!?_ " Nora cried in disbelief. "Professor, we need all the help we can get! Even if it's a lot of people, isn't that a positive? Look at everyone here willing to fight for what's right!"

Weiss shook her head as her expression became melancholy. "While that is nice to see, Professor Ozpin is correct. Traveling with a group of this size, _especially_ while trying to get into Atlas, is going to cause problems. It just isn't practical."

"If I may," Jaune began in a soft voice, "Team JNR may be more useful elsewhere. If you can think of a task for us, Professor, we… maybe _we_ should go."

Nora gave Jaune a furious look of disbelief. "Ren, don't you _dare_ tell me you agree with him."

Ren closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. "I… don't. I can mask our signatures from oncoming grimm, and our human enemies won't know our location, if we're careful. I think there is another way. A way that involves all of us."

"Listen. _Kid_ ," Qrow said as he rattled his flask and frowned as no liquid sloshed around within it. "I like you. I really do, but we need to make some sacrifices here, for the greater good. Team JNR may be better off on the sidelines, especially if your leader is making that offer… and it might sound cold, but we don't need the girl with the broken arm. She's a liability."

" _Excuse me?_ " Ilia fumed. "With Jaune helping me out, my arm will be _fine_ in a matter of a week or so, and I have value outside of just combat! You don't even _know_ me!"

"And _you_ don't know the specifics of our situation. Atlas, the upper half, isn't exactly accepting of faunus to begin with, and the entire city is on lockdown. No civilian airships in, no civilian airships out. We'd be lucky to sneak one or two people in, let alone _fourteen_. We also might not have an entire week, before we need to move. I'm sorry, but you're the obvious choice to go. Oz?" Qrow asked.

"…Miss Amitola. Please, be reasonable," Oscar said in a sympathetic tone as Sun glared daggers at him and other people around the room began to mumble and whisper amongst themselves.

Ilia grit her teeth, as Neptune put a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Alright, you know what? I'm not usually 'that guy', but I'm not just letting this happen. Ilia comes with us, and it's not up for debate. Team SINS is a package deal. We stood here and fought for you at Haven, without even being _asked_ to have your back. You owe us to let us help you, in a situation this serious. I've been hearing 'fate of the world' literally thrown around the past few days, and you're going to push away volunteers to hold down one of the apocalypse macguffins?"

Sun closed his eyes and focused on breathing calmly as his tail flicked against the floor behind himself. Qrow shook his head as he stored his flask back in his vest, and sighed.

"That's not a decision you get to make. If SINS is a package deal, then you know what? Let's just get rid of _all_ of you. Your help was appreciated, but we made it this far without you," Qrow stated plainly.

"And just like that, three faunus are thrown to the side, despite their contributions that saved your entire operation. How incredibly typical," Cinnamon mused. "If that's how it is, then why don't the three of you come with me, and join the White Fang? I _could_ guide the faunus to secure the relic in Vacuo, while the _more important_ humans deal with the relic of knowledge."

Oscar shook his head as he gave Cinnamon a very serious look. "The Vacuo relic is _not_ yours to protect, Miss Shoal. I don't know you well enough to trust you with a task like that, and Mr. Ayana will not be joining us, either. This is hardly an attack on faunus."

Blake snarled as she stood from the couch. "You know what? If this is how we're going to go about this, then I'm out, too. We've had multiple conflicts over staying together, and suddenly Team RWBY is the only one that's 'useful' to you?"

Qrow put a hand on his forehead and snorted. "That's rich, coming from _you_. Anyone else want to just duck out, and make this eas-"

" _Enough!_ "

Slowly, everyone turned to look at Sun, who had his eyes on the floor. His hands were balled into fists and shaking slightly as he took a deep breath, and looked up to glare at Oscar.

"This… is _bullshit_. I don't care about the reasons, and I don't care about what _you_ think is right. Team RWBY is obviously your preferred vehicle for this relic, and you know what? That's pretty damned obvious, even to me. That means it's also obvious to our _enemies_. You want to split up? Then _fine_ , we'll split up… but we'll do it with the intent of rejoining, and we'll do it in a way that's _smart_. Giving the relic to RWBY and telling the rest of us to get bent isn't just stupid, it's _suicide_. The minute they see Ruby headed to Atlas, Salem's crew is going to know what you're doing," Sun said in a commanding tone.

Silence fell over the room, until Yang slowly nodded.

"…he's right. Sun is absolutely right. Ruby's got a trump card in her silver eyes, and yeah, we get results, but we're going to be watched. If we're carving out a small crew to carry that thing to Atlas, it should be anyone _but_ us."

Oscar looked between the two teens, before settling on Sun. "Mr. Wukong… unless I'm mistaken, it sounds like you have something in mind."

Sun took several more breaths, and rubbed at his temples. "…yeah. Give _me_ the relic, and a small crew."

"No," Qrow fired back immediately. "That thing is _far_ too dangerous to put in the hands of someone who hasn't been here f-"

"Shut up!" Sun snapped. "Would you… just shut up and _listen to me_ , before I completely lose my shit, alright!? Your boss asked, so I'm going to lay it out, nice and simple. Give me the relic, and give me Blake, Yang, and Neptune. The four of us will get it to Atlas, a-"

Ilia cleared her throat loudly, only for Sun to whirl on her with a sympathetic look.

"Ilia, as much as I'm starting to hate him, he's got a point- you're _not_ fit for this. Not yet. I have a plan, if you'll just listen for a minute and trust me."

Ilia searched Sun's eyes, before she turned away, looking hurt. "…I trust you. This better be good."

"Kali… you're heading out to try to establish the Black Claw as a legitimate, recognized force in Mistral, right?" Sun asked.

"Right. I don't know where I'll be," she admitted.

"Then Ilia, I want you, Jaune, and Qrow with her."

Qrow leaned forward slightly as he tried to understand the statement. "You wanna run that by me again, kid? Even _if_ we were to follow this, where's the logic?"

"…please let him finish," Ruby said with a shaky voice. "I want to know where this is going. There's something to this."

"There is," Sun reassured. "Yang?"

"Yo?" came the response.

"Your mother. Raven. The Spring Maiden. Her semblance allows her to make portals to people she cares about, right? That's what Weiss told us… and I'm guessing that means she can make a bridge to both you, and Qrow," Sun said.

"That's right, yeah… but we don't know where she is. Why?" Yang asked as she leaned forward.

" _Exactly_ ," Sun replied. "Having a known maiden in an unknown location seems really, _really_ bad right now… and think about it. Ruby, Weiss, Ozpin, Sage, Nora, and Ren. Together, you guys _should_ be able to find her, somehow. That's also a sizable crew, and the one that Salem would _think_ is carrying the relic with them. It's a perfect setup to draw fire away from my smaller party."

Oscar nodded in understanding as he began to slowly pace in front of his chair. "…and when Raven is located, and the four of you are safely within Atlas… she can take us to Qrow, Ilia, Jaune, and Kali, and then _all_ of us to Yang, and the rest of you."

" _Yes_ ," Sun said with a cathartic exhale. "That's exactly what I'm thinking. A party of four to Atlas, four to establish the Claw and get Ilia back in fighting shape, and the rest to find Raven and then bring us all together again, _instantly_ , while our enemies have no idea what happened."

Qrow mulled over the proposition, before cracking his knuckles. "…alright, I'll admit, that's a solid plan in theory, but it has two _big_ problems, kiddo. One- Raven's not going to cooperate. Two- even with a party of four, we've got no ideas yet for getting past the Atlas lockdown."

Oscar looked up at Qrow, and a sort of unseen conversation seemed to pass between them before Ozpin spoke again. "…leave Raven to me. I can convince her, so long as we find her."

Yang's nostrils flared as her eyes seemed to almost burn crimson for a brief moment. "What the _hell_ is that supposed to mean? What do you have on my mom?"

Oscar didn't reply, and kept his gaze on the floor below.

"…as for Atlas, I can get it done," Cinnamon said. "I can get those four into the _lower_ half of the city, at the very least, without raising any sort of suspicion. I don't even have to be there to do it. I'll supply a boat, and plans for taking down detection systems at the port in Argus. They'll have no idea you're even there."

Weiss stood up with a concerned look. "Excuse me, but how and _why_ do you have access to those things?"

"Simple," Cinnamon replied. "An elaborate plan exists to destroy your family's mansion and knock Upper Atlas out of the sky. _That_ was Adam's endgame. I never intended to let it happen, but traveling to Lower Atlas via Argus was always step one. That much could still prove useful, even now."

Yang was next to stand up and glare at Cinnamon as she threw her hands up. "What happened to you telling us everything!?"

"Those plans were _literally_ headed for a paper shredder! I wasn't going to bring them up, because that was Adam's brainchild, not mine! Destroying Atlas is _not_ something I would endorse, period. Sending a message about the corruption of the SDC by crashing a floating city into a grounded one and killing countless faunus isn't only counterproductive, it's downright _insane_ ," Cinnamon clarified.

"Alright, alright!" Qrow interrupted. "Whatever. _Fine_. Oz, is this _really_ what we're going with?"

Oscar furrowed his brows and slowly rotated his cane against the floor as he considered the notion. "…in all honesty… I think we should give it a shot. Mr. Wukong, you've made some very good points, and the intention to reunite and make a stand at Atlas has me convinced that your heart is in the right place."

Sun let out a massive sigh of relief and held a hand up to his forehead as Kali moved out from behind the couch.

"One last thing, in that case- I know a guy in town who can make counterfeit jewelry, weapons… you name it. Let me borrow the relic for a few days, and he can make a facsimile for the squad going after Raven to carry. That'll give us one more layer of deception to work with, especially if you all keep it out in the open for all to see. Draw the enemy as far from Atlas as you can, once you have Raven located, and then warp away. It'll buy us even more time, as a collective."

Oscar nodded, and returned to his chair. "Very good. I'll be joining you in making the copy, to keep watch over the relic. Everyone… you have your assignments. My team, we will leave the moment the forged relic is complete. Kali- you, Ilia, Qrow, and Jaune will do the same. Mr. Wukong… I want you to wait here for three days, before going to the train station at the edge of town, and heading for Argus. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Sun replied.

"Good. Then, let us all get some rest, and enjoy what little downtime we have," Ozpin instructed.

Sun nodded and began to walk immediately as he waved a beckoning hand to his crew. "Team SINS, meeting in my room. We need to talk about a few things."

A sudden rush of noise broke out in the main room as several people turned to address each other all at once. Weiss frowned slightly as she rubbed her forehead, and Ruby stood up to look her over with concern.

"You okay, Weiss?"

"I… I'll be fine, but I think I need some fresh air. I'll be right back," she said as she turned and headed for the hall. Weiss pushed through the front door and walked to the porch, before folding her arms atop the railing and hanging her head to sigh. The sound of padded footsteps echoed not far behind her, and she raised her head and turned to see Cinnamon walk out onto the porch.

"…Schnee. I'm going to need that favor."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Volume 6 is going to be _very_ different… though a few things will indeed remain intact.

Next update on Monday.

 **-RD**


	56. Revision

Sun was the first one into the bedroom, while the rest of his team followed in tow. Sage closed the door behind himself as he brought up the rear, and cleared his throat harshly.

"…you know, if I'm headed with the other crew, and this takes over a month…"

" _I know_ ," Sun growled as he took out his scroll. "I'm taking care of it right now, and I want you with them because they just might need the extra muscle you can provide. There's a good chance that Ozpin and Ruby's team is going to end up under heavy fire. You're better in a knock-down drag-out brawl than you are at infiltration and subtlety."

Sun tapped on his scroll a few times while Sage drew his own, and examined it with a bored look. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and flicked back up to Sun.

"That's… well, that's a lot."

"That's _everything_ ," Sun hissed. "You stay with them until they find Raven, and if I'm in debt by then… jump through the portal and collect. I'm trusting you on this one. It's too big not to."

Ilia's gaze darted back and forth between the two boys as they conversed, and she moved to sit upon the edge of the mattress.

"Um… what's going on here, exactly?"

Neptune moved to sit beside Ilia, and slowly combed a gloved hand through his hair as he made a frustrated noise. "…Sage is only with us because Sun's _paying_ him to be with us. He refused to rejoin the team without compensation."

Ilia's eyes flicked from Neptune to Sage, and the large man almost flinched at the ferocity with which they burned.

"…you're making him _pay_ you, when we're in a situation like _this?_ Forget any pleasantries- you're an asshole, and if I ever hear an 'S' at the end of our team name again, I'm going to lose my goddamned shit. You may be hired on, but you're alone, now. End of discussion."

Sage sneered at Ilia as he pocketed his scroll and folded his arms. "Yeah? Well I ain't the only asshole in the room. Judge me _after_ you see my results. I'm fine going with the group hunting for this Raven woman, so you won't even have to put up with me."

Ilia snorted and looked over to Sun, who had taken to leaning against the wall as his tail swished dramatically behind him. She sucked in a breath, before deciding she could no longer hold in her thoughts.

"Speaking of… I _really_ want to talk about the team I'm being placed on."

Neptune cleared his throat, and turned a bit pale. "So do I."

Sun raised a brow, and frowned. "Well… alright. I mean, none of it's final, it's just the idea in general that matters. Neptune, what's your issue?"

Neptune took a deep breath and blew out a large exhale. "My issue is that Cinnamon wants to put us on a _boat_. Probably a _small_ boat, given that we're sneaking in to Atlas."

Sun's shoulders sagged as he gave his friend a tired look. "Dude, you can't be serious. The whole point of a boat is to keep you _above_ water."

"But still close to it! We're talking about stealthily going across an _ocean!_ " Neptune whined.

"Ah, shit, this again," Sage commented as he threw a hand up in the air.

Ilia wrinkled her nose as she tried to follow in the conversation. "I… think I'm missing something, yet again?"

"Neptune's afraid of water," Sun and Sage said at the same time.

"It's not that simple!" Neptune said as Ilia looked incredibly confused. "It's a diagnosed phobia! It's not funny!"

"Never said it was, I've just… never heard of that, before," Ilia clarified. "If you're so hell bent on avoiding the ocean, then let _me_ go on the relic squad. I belong there, anyway."

Sun pushed off the wall and approached the bed to stand before Ilia. "I _really_ don't think that's a good idea. You need extra rest to heal."

"Maybe I do, but _you_ might need an infiltration specialist. Demolitions, entry, and disarming are my thing. When we reach Lower Atlas, we still need to _get to_ Upper Atlas, and that isn't easy. I might just be able to get it done, one arm or not," Ilia offered. "And besides, I… I _want_ to go along with you."

Sun shifted his weight as he considered the notion. "Trust me, I want you with me, too, but… _if_ we take you, I want Jaune with us. Your recovery really needs to be accelerated if you're going to be involved in relic protection. Who knows who or what might come after us?"

Neptune nodded as he followed along, and Sage walked past the trio to the bathroom. "If we do make the swap, I guess I'm with Kali and Qrow in the Black Claw establishment crew?"

Sun sat down next to Ilia and put a hand on her shoulder as he looked across her to Neptune. "Are you okay with that? Is that something you'd prefer over being on the open sea with me, Blake, and Yang?"

Neptune clasped his hands and began to fidget with his thumbs as he thought it over. "I don't know if I'd… _prefer_ it, but between the idea of being on a boat, and helping out Ilia… it's a trade I'll make. I mean, we're going to see each other again, hopefully in less than a month or two, right? Take her and Jaune. I'll be okay with Blake's mom and that Qrow guy. Maybe I'll even get to know them better. It could be fun," Neptune added with false enthusiasm.

Ilia slowly put a hand on Neptune's thigh, and his attention snapped to her in surprise. "Thank you, Neptune. It's really not about fun at all, and I doubt either of us will have it between my injury and you being away from all of us. But… we need to do what's effective, here. This is too important to screw up, and I might be needed in Atlas, while you would lose your shit and potentially slow them down."

Neptune's eyes returned to the floor as he nodded. "I know. I'm sorry, Sun. I freaked out on the boat ride to Vale, and that was on a luxury ship. On some small speedboat or whatever Cinnamon's going to give us, I'd probably have an aneurysm."

" _I'm_ sorry that you feel you need to do this, but… I also understand," Sun replied. "Maybe it'll be a good thing to have another human working alongside the Claw. It could give them perspective."

"I guess," Neptune halfheartedly agreed. Sage emerged from the bathroom and cracked his neck as he rejoined the group, only to head toward the door.

"Am I needed here, or can I go find something more important to do than moping with you three?"

Sun merely sighed, too drained to get angry with him. "Go ahead, Sage. We'll meet up again soon."

Sage gave a mocking salute and opened the door. As he moved to step on through it, he almost collided with a figure on the other side of the door who let out a small squeak.

 _"Do you mind!?"_

Sage grunted and forced his way past, and down the hall. "Kinda, yeah. Confused how to open doors without a butler to do it for ya?"

Weiss Schnee turned and scowled after Sage as she narrowed her eyes. " _Unbelievable_."

Sun rubbed at his jaw, and frowned as he felt the stubble along the usually smooth flesh. "Hey, Weiss. Sorry about him, he can be a jerk. How can we help you?"

Weiss' heels clacked against the floor as she entered the room and took note of Ilia's scrutinizing gaze. "Well… it's about the teams you came up with."

Sun automatically let out a sigh of frustration. "I know they're not great, but I tried, alright? Tell me what's wrong."

"Oh, no, you didn't do anything _wrong_. In fact, I think most of your decisions are sound, and potentially the best way to go about it," Weiss reassured.

"…but…" Ilia added, expectantly.

"…but Cinnamon approached me when I went outside for air, and… she isn't entirely confident that her plan to get you into Lower Atlas is going to work," Weiss said in a worried tone.

"… _what?_ " Ilia questioned as her eyes widened. "I've never heard Cinnamon be anything less that completely sure about _any_ of her decisions, and I've known her for quite a while."

"That… _is_ weird," Sun agreed, "but I can kinda understand. If security is really as tight as Qrow said it likely is, we may need a backup plan, just in case. Did she have any suggestions?"

"Just the one. She wants _me_ to go with you, to escort the relic," Weiss informed. "I have to say, after listening to her logic, I agree with her."

Neptune stood, and made a show of reaching for the ceiling in a stretch. "That _does_ make sense, actually."

Weiss looked skyward, and huffed. "Why, because I'd be with you?"

" _Actually_ , Weiss, I gave up my spot on the relic crew to Ilia. In terms of team dynamics and infiltration, it just makes more sense," Neptune replied with a charming smile. "It's not what I wanted, but… I'd rather do what's best for our group as a whole."

Weiss arced a brow, and her features softened ever so slightly. "That's… actually rather noble of you."

"It's nothing," Neptune responded as he buffed his glove against his leather jacket. "That's just what the good guys do," he added as Sun and Ilia gave each other unimpressed looks.

" _Anyway_ ," Sun started, "what could you do for us, in terms of escorting the relic? I'm guessing Cinnamon wants to use your ties to Atlas as a failsafe?"

"Something like that, yes. There's also the fact that _I_ can get into Upper Atlas easily, regardless of security, simply by saying that I've come to my senses and wish to return home. Getting from Lower to Upper Atlas usually doesn't happen, except on special occasions, or if someone from the Upper city smuggles people in. It wouldn't take much for me to get you up, once I'm there," Weiss finished.

"…sound enough logic for me," Ilia replied. "Still, though, I'm worried about Cin being worried. I'll talk to her."

"And I've gotta talk to Ruby, especially now. If we stick with this new rotation, she'll be the only member of her own team going after Raven. I kinda just… threw her into that situation, without meaning to. Jaune, too," Sun grumbled.

Weiss shook her head, and shrugged. "It's like Neptune said, at this point- we need to do what's _best_ , rather than what is easy. Believe me, I have no inclination to make a trip to Argus and go back home. Home is the _last_ place I want to see right now, but for the safety of the relic? I'll do it."

"Thanks, Weiss," Neptune said with an encouraging smirk. She blushed ever so slightly as she returned the gesture, and moved to exit the room.

"If you need me, I'll be out on the porch."

Without another word, Weiss began to make her way down the hall. Ilia waited for only a split second after the door closed to turn to Neptune with a mischievous grin.

"…alright, I totally get it. Her legs are _divine_."

"Hey. _Hey_ ," Neptune said with a serious look. "Don't even think about it. I've had feelings for her for ages, now."

"Doesn't make her your property," Ilia lilted, before turning her expression more neutral. "But, _fine_. She's all yours, if you can get there. Only because I've come to respect you, though."

"Aw, you _do_ care!" Neptune said as he batted his eyelashes at Ilia.

"Alright, guys, _focus_ ," Sun interrupted as Ilia stuck out her tongue at Neptune. "Save the supposed charm for the reunion, after Raven is found and convinced. For now, we've all got stuff to do, and people to speak to. I'll head for Ruby's room."

"I'll find Cin," Ilia confirmed as she slid off the mattress to stand.

"And _I'll_ see if I can't get a little closer to Weiss," Neptune finished with a grin.

Ilia snapped her fingers, and shook her head as Neptune instinctively followed the sound. "Yo, horndog- friendly advice? If you smother a girl with a demeanor like Weiss, she's going to push you off and not give you the time of day afterward. Stop acting so desperate, and you'll have more success. _Trust_ me."

Neptune paused to consider the notion, before shivering slightly. "Alright, alright. In that case, I'll go talk to Kali and Qrow, and let them know about the switch."

" _Much_ better," Ilia praised as she headed for the door and then disappeared into the hall. Sun turned to Neptune, and clapped a hand upon his shoulder.

"…you _absolutely_ owe us for letting you have your hero moment with Weiss."

Neptune merely chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I do. It's a huge shame that Ilia doesn't do dudes. I'm starting to crush on her _just_ a bit."

Sun rolled his eyes as they headed into the hallway as a pair. "Yeah, well, that's just how it is. Keep that shit to yourself, so you don't ruin what we've got going. I like our little three-man team."

"Oh, of course," Neptune agreed. "I'm just sayin', though. Am I still sleeping with Sage tonight?"

"You're still sleeping with Sage tonight," Sun informed as he clapped his friend upon the shoulder.

"…damn it."

* * *

Qrow Branwen stood on the second floor balcony, gazing out over the town while lost in thought. The sound of a sliding glass door broke him from his reverie, and he turned to brace his hands backward against the railing as he looked over at the intruder.

"…I noticed you ran dry. Care to join me?" Kali asked. In one hand, she held a dark glass bottle, and in the other, two wine glasses held firmly together between her fingers.

Qrow chuckled and pushed off the railing as he approached the wrought iron table between them. "Sure, may as well. I was honestly a little surprised you stayed in town. Kali, right?"

"Right. So am I, actually. Blake and I ending up in jail for a night had something to do with it, but… I'm glad I was here, to hear the plan and get familiar with all of you," Kali replied as she took one of the two matching chairs while Qrow sank heavily into the other.

"Jail, huh? Let me guess- charged with existing while having cat ears?" Qrow asked as he accepted the bottle from Kali and proceeded to bite the cap off.

"Something like that, yes. I'm not even shocked, but Blake didn't take it particularly well. She's quite prone to letting her emotions overwhelm her," Kali said with a grimace as she accepted the filled wine glass.

"That's a trait she's going to have to keep hidden, in the months ahead. This won't be easy for any of us, but… I feel bad about what we're exposing these kids to. They didn't sign up for this, regardless of what they think huntsmen and huntresses do," Qrow mused as he slowly rotated the stem of the glass between his fingers.

Kali's expression turned to one of doubt as she looked over Qrow's rough features. "You know, normally, I'd disagree with you, but… all of this business with the relics, maidens being actual people, and this Salem woman? _No one_ should be subjected to this. That being said, I'm glad that the 'kids' we have with us are who they are."

Qrow chuckled in response, and took a sip from his glass. "You know, I don't know you, but I've got a good feeling. I feel like I can trust you."

Kali took a long drink from her glass, before gently setting it onto the table. "…so that you're aware up front, I just lost my husband. I'm not looking."

"I'm… sorry to hear that, but that isn't where I was going with it," Qrow offered.

"I didn't think so, but I thought I should let you know now," Kali replied. "I'm used to casual flirting, and when I was younger… perhaps more. But lately, I'm not feeling it, and for good reason. What did you mean, really?"

Qrow waved a hand nonchalantly. "Just that I get the feeling you know what you're talking about. What's your take on Sun? Does he usually know what he's doing?"

"I would trust him with my life. You could say I already have, several times," Kali said immediately. "Let me put it this way- if he and Blake were to split, I'd be angry at _her_ for failing to keep him around. He's an absolute treasure. Troubled, in some ways, but… I already see him as my adopted son."

"…well _that's_ some high praise, if I've ever heard it. I was just expecting 'he's a nice boy', or 'we can trust him'. You really feel that strongly about it?" Qrow inquired as he took another drink.

Kali's soft smirk finally returned as she let out a small noise of amusement. "Blake didn't get her habit of feeling things intensely from thin air, my friend. I wouldn't call his plan 'perfect', but… what ever is? I say we follow his lead, and see where it takes us. Live a little."

Qrow grunted in response as he finished his glass. "Live a little, she says, while watching what could literally be the dawn of the apocalypse. This is one hell of an interesting little team we've got here."

"Interesting indeed," Kali agreed. "Though, if you really do think I know what I'm talking about… be wary of Cinnamon. The children seem trusting of her, but… something isn't right. I can't quite put my finger on it, and it could easily just be a little thing, but women like that unsettle me. We fought, once, and even in combat, every move she makes has a double meaning, or ulterior motive. I'm glad she isn't joining us."

Qrow poured himself more wine as he kept his eyes on the glass. "Point taken, but you know, sometimes people hide things for good reason. Not every ulterior motive is self-serving or malicious, Kali. A lot of good people do bad things for reasons that people without the same life experiences wouldn't understand. She could be trying to screw us over, or it could just be that."

"Things like attaching your soul to that of an adolescent child, for example," Kali offered as she folded her arms atop the surface of the table.

Qrow let out a long exhale, and used his free hand to muss the front of his hair. "Look, I'll be honest, I don't know how it works, and I sure as hell don't ask, because I'm a little afraid of the answer. Oz has done more for me than anyone I've ever met, family included, and he's living inside of Oscar at the moment. Those are the facts, and those facts are good enough for me, right now. The first thing he did after convincing Oscar of the seriousness of everything going on was to seek me out, so we could get this ball rolling again after his last death. He's committed to the cause, and… this isn't the first time I've seen it, either. Maybe that makes me an asshole. Maybe I'm just numb to it. I don't know."

Crickets sounded out in the surrounding area as Qrow busied himself with his drink again. He avoided Kali's eyes long enough for the situation to turn awkward, before finally looking back over and finding them locked on his as he set down his glass.

"… _do_ I come off as an asshole?"

"Before we had this conversation, I would have said yes," Kali admitted. "Now, with a little perspective… I think you're just a little rough around the edges. Differing life experiences, as you said. It's obvious that you care, and lack of caring is what makes an asshole."

Qrow let out another grunt as he sat up in a more dignified posture. "Thanks… I guess."

Kali shrugged noncommittally. "It's your actions that shifted my perception, not mine. I'm glad that the other adult I'll be spending weeks, or even months with is one that I can talk to, either way. We'll have to do this again sometime."

"You're leaving already?" Qrow asked with a bit of disappointment in his voice.

"My daughter wanted to talk to me at some point tonight, and I don't want to keep her waiting too much longer. She seemed anxious, and that's never good. Every second she spends worrying at night is a second she could be spending making me grandchildren," Kali teased as she stood up.

"…you're a very open woman, Kali. It's been a pleasure," Qrow said with a nod as he raised his glass to her.

"Mm. Thank you for having us, here. It might be worth talking to Sun for yourself, and seeing how he comes off," Kali suggested as she approached the sliding glass door.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I'll do that, sooner than later. He's a passionate kid," Qrow replied.

"Have a good night, Qrow," Kali offered as she slipped through the door.

Qrow waited until she disappeared from view before he set down his glass and picked up the entire bottle of wine. Without a second thought, he took a long pull directly from it, and let out a ragged breath.

"Oz, I hope you know what the hell you're doing…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

A small correction was made last chapter- at the end, Ozpin told Kali, Qrow, Ilia, and **Sage** to leave after his team does, when it should have been Jaune. Trying to juggle dialogue for that many characters and sort out teams, which are still shifting over the next few chapters, basically melted my brain. It's fixed now, and was updated sometime in the afternoon on the day it got uploaded. Even with rereading and editing each chapter three times before I upload, I didn't catch that until it was already posted. Figures.

In regards to Simply Christian's review, I appreciate the feedback. I don't agree with much of the assessment, especially when compared to some of the leaps in logic and unnecessary decisions that have been introduced to canon, but I also don't think it's appropriate to go point-for-point with one reviewer's long list of criticisms in an author's note and justify why this story has become what it is. If you're reading, Simply Christian, I welcome all perspectives on the story, and I'm not being dismissive as a way of saying 'lolno, you're wrong, this story is perfect', because it certainly isn't. It's moreso that I know where I want to take this, and the track the story is on right now of going bigger in scope than Sun and Blake's relationship is only going to intensify as time goes on. I had a feeling that the departure from "Eclipse/BlackSun fluff" into "alternate retelling from Volume 4 onward if Sun's crew had stuck around" would alienate some people, and I'm fine with that. That's part of why I updated the description somewhat late in the game- every story can't be for everyone, and my overall focus shifted as I decided to expand. Whether you keep reading it and/or reviewing is your decision, but I'm most certainly going to keep writing it.

The one specific thing I will address is that as for Cinnamon, I was honestly expecting _most_ people to dislike her, given that I injected an OC into canon and gave her an absolutely massive role as she moved up in the White Fang. I'm actually fairly shocked that she's generally so well-liked, and the inconsistency, entitlement, and suspicious nature of her character is absolutely intended. I'd argue that if anyone thinks she's being completely honest, forthright, and trustworthy, they just haven't been paying attention. I actually love the line "How sick and twisted does an individual have to be that the manifestation of their soul is to force themselves on another person's soul?" from Simply Christian's review. Might be something to keep in mind while reading.

"The Plan" for Volume 6 is something that took literal weeks to work out and finalize before it was something I was happy with, and it's great to see that most people are on board for it. Hopefully it now makes more sense that Cordovin and the Apathy won't be making an appearance just yet, because I'd wager about a third of the canon Volume 6 is going to be included in this version, with the rest saved for later.

Oh, by the way, the rest of the story bar the last chapter before the hiatus is written at this point, so we're moving to **daily updates.** Hold on to your asses and see you tomorrow!

 **-RD**


	57. Nearing the Altar

Ruby Rose remained silent as she laid flat upon the grass, her arms behind her head. The back yard of the safe house was mostly silent, save for the occasional sound of movement within the living room. As activity continued to die down, the young girl found herself content to simply stare up at the shattered moon in silence as her mind continued to race between unpleasant thoughts.

"Hey, Ruby. Room for two?" a familiar voice asked from a short distance away. Ruby tilted her head back to catch an upside-down glimpse of Jaune's sneakers. She smiled slightly at the sight and returned her head to a resting position as she brought her arms down to overlap upon her stomach.

"Sure thing, Jaune. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," the lanky boy admitted as he lowered himself to sit, and then recline with his head next to Ruby's. He looked at her sideways, as his legs trailed opposite of hers. "Between the fight at Haven, and now, our new… 'orders', I'm starting to feel a little small."

Ruby turned to catch Jaune's eyes, and gave him a weak smile. "I know what you mean. Things haven't really been coming up Ruby lately."

"No," Jaune agreed. "No, I guess they haven't. I'm really not sure how I feel about… what's about to happen, actually. Oh, no… I wasn't ready, yet…"

"Huh?" Ruby asked in confusion as she craned and twisted her neck to follow Jaune's gaze. Another set of legs came into view, and she found the sight somewhat unfamiliar until she looked farther upward. "…oh. Um… hi, Sun!"

"Hey," Sun greeted. His voice totally lacked the enthusiasm that he had intended to instill it with, and he looked down at the pair with something resembling regret.

"Hi. Can we help you?" Jaune asked, the tension in his tone and posture nearly palpable.

"That's actually what I wanted to ask," Sun replied as he hovered awkwardly above the reclining teens. "Could I… sit, with you guys? I want to talk about some stuff. If you want me to go away, I will. I mean, I can't imagine you two are thrilled with me right now…"

"Sun, hey, don't do that," Ruby instructed as she sat up and turned to face him. Jaune followed suit, and dragged himself into a cross-legged position. "If it's about taking charge, and putting us on teams… I'm glad someone did. Professor Ozpin didn't have a plan other than just starting to cut people loose, and you stepped in as a great leader when we needed one. We'll be okay, even if the teams are kinda… um…" Ruby trailed off, looking sheepish.

"…sucky?" Jaune offered.

"…mmyeah," Ruby agreed with a guilty grin.

Sun let out a defeated noise as he visibly deflated. "Guys, I'm _really_ sorry, and I want to talk to you about changing things around… especially now that Weiss wants to travel with me. Ruby, that means that you'd be the only one from your team in your squad, just like Jaune," he commented as he gave the other boy a quick glance. Jaune's lip twitched in annoyance, and Sun lowered his eyes again as he finally sat down.

"…oh," was all Ruby said as she pulled her knees into her chest. "I… guess it makes sense, though. I can already see why everyone is where they are, in your plan."

"Can you?" Sun inquired. "I'm no great leader, and I'm _definitely_ not qualified to make snap decisions over the two of you. I feel like I just swooped in and uprooted everything, to the detriment of both of you."

"You did," Jaune agreed as he began brushing his fingers through blades of grass, his attention focused firmly on the ground. "But, if I had the courage to step up and shout down Professor Ozpin like you did… I probably would have made the same decisions."

"You… would?" Sun asked as his tail snaked back and forth through the grass.

"Me too," Ruby offered. "Listen, Sun, I don't think either of us blame you for doing what you did. Not _really_. It's pretty plain to see that your idea is good, and anyone thinking it through would have pitched the same one, or something similar. So… we're not mad at _you_ , we're just… upset at the situation. Or at least, I am," Ruby said as she glanced over at Jaune.

"…yeah," Jaune replied tersely. "That."

"I know it's not a great time, right now," Sun began, "but… Jaune, I'd actually like you to come with my squad. Ilia's going to be joining us, and whatever you did to her helped her recover a _lot_ faster. I already owe you, and I appreciate the time and energy you put into healing her. I know it's horrible for me to ask again so soon, but… I'm worried that she's going to get herself hurt by being too overzealous. I'd really appreciate it if you'd join us, alongside Weiss."

Jaune heaved a mighty sigh, and ripped a few blades of grass from the lawn to ball them in his gauntleted fist.

"…yeah. Of course. I still won't be with Ren and Nora, so…"

" _Jaune_ ," Ruby admonished. "That isn't really Sun's fault. It's about balancing the teams, and… I don't know. I hate this. I hate _all_ of this," Ruby admitted as she slid her legs out straight and rested her elbows on her knees, only to cup her forehead with her hands.

A horrible twist of guilt began to knot at Sun's stomach, and he drummed his fingers along his thigh. "I'll… Jaune, I'll find a way to swap us around. Maybe if I go with the Black Claw and keep Ilia with me, Ren and Nora could go with you to Atlas, and Yang could go with Ruby, or…?"

" _No_ ," Jaune stated emphatically. "I need to get over this. Like Ruby said, I shouldn't be angry at _you_. I can't just keep relying on Ren and Nora to keep me from…" Jaune shook his head, and let the grass in his fist fall back to the Earth as he cast his hand out in a frustrated motion. "…I need to be stronger."

"You _are_ strong, Jaune! Most people never would have made it this far!" Ruby consoled as she scooted closer to him.

"Ruby, just _stop_ ," Jaune warned. "I've got a lot on my mind, and I feel like I'm going t-"

"Hey, man," Sun interrupted as he gave Jaune a look full of concern. "If you really want to keep the teams as they are, then we'll be together. If you want to talk privately once it's just our group in the house, or on the train to Argus, I'm willing. You know, to have another guy friend who could maybe help you with what you're going through?"

Jaune hesitated, before his expression twisted into some grotesque mixture of disgust and uncertainty. He stood up abruptly and dusted off his jeans, all the while avoiding Sun's eyes.

"…maybe. Keep the teams as they are. I need sleep. Sorry for being so… cranky," Jaune offered before stomping his way to the living room door, and slipping back inside the safe house. Ruby flopped backward with a dramatic sigh as Jaune disappeared from her view.

"…don't blame yourself. Jaune has a lot going on right now. Cinder said some things to him that really got under his skin."

Sun slowly turned to align himself with Ruby, before settling gently into the grass beside her. "I do. And… is he still talking about Pyrrha? Has he made any peace with it?"

Ruby furrowed her brows, and returned her gaze to the moon above. "He still hasn't fully accepted it, but there's more to his mood than that. He feels like a terrible leader. Just like you do, apparently."

"Difference is, I _know_ I'm a terrible leader," Sun countered. "Jaune didn't abandon his team to try to chase a girl he fell for."

"…Sun, when we were all working to defend Beacon together, he literally ran after Pyrrha on a suicide mission to help her fight Cinder. He told Ren and Nora to hold the line with the rest of us while he ran off with her to potentially… not come back. You two aren't so different," Ruby explained.

Sun's arms suddenly felt incredibly cold, and he rubbed at the flesh beneath his rolled-back sleeves. "I… had no idea. I really should talk to him. See if we can't make each other feel better."

Ruby continued as though he hadn't said anything, and kept her eyes skyward. "You two aren't the only ones who feel like dead weight, you know. At Haven, I barely had a chance to contribute before I passed out, and my team had to divide to protect me _and_ the relic. If you want a good example of a leader not really helping a situation, you've got that. It's all because of these stupid _eyes_ ," Ruby spat with an uncharacteristic sneer.

"Maybe you can learn to use them. Maybe your body's still learning," Sun offered hesitantly.

"…yeah. Maybe," Ruby agreed halfheartedly. "But the point is, despite our shortcomings, our teams still look up to us. Weiss still lets me call the shots, Ren and Nora treat Jaune like the tactician he is, and Neptune and Ilia seem to adore you, as far as I can tell. The three of us might all feel like we're just flailing in the wind, here, but they _believe_ in us. Right now, I'm also going to choose to believe in you."

"Even though I'm separating you from Yang, and the others?" Sun asked.

"Even then. Knowing Yang is okay again and having Weiss travel with you is good enough to keep me going forward. I've got plenty of inspiration, including convincing Raven to help us out, and explaining to her how much she really hurt Yang. The only thing is… I don't know that Jaune has much left to fight for. Cinder didn't even remember who he was, apparently, and that crushed him. Now, she's gone, and he feels like his entire quest for vengeance was just… pointless. He needs direction, and hope," Ruby finished.

"Then I'll do what I can to give it to him," Sun replied. "I promise. We're all one big team, and even if we'll be separated for a while, I'll find it in me to help lift him up. Have a good night, Ruby."

Sun stood and brushed himself off quickly, before beginning to head back inside.

"Sun, wait. Please," Ruby asked as she spun and sat up to face him. "I… I was asked _not_ to tell you this, but…I really, really, _really_ feel like I should."

"…what is it?" Sun asked. His heart sank as he realized what the statement was likely about, and he braced himself for the worst.

Ruby fidgeted slightly and clasped her hands together. "Blake… told me that she feels like she should go with her mom, to help establish the Black Claw, instead of with you. She doesn't want you to know, because she's planning to just keep it bottled up and travel to Atlas because she's worried about you… but the way you look at her tells me that if you found out about that, you'd feel _awful_. It looks like you two are really in love, so… um, I think you should talk to her and work this out, instead of just letting her make the decision for you?"

The sickening sensation crawled upward from Sun's heart to his face, and he felt his cheeks tingle slightly as the words sank in. "Thanks, Ruby. I'll… deal with it."

Sun said nothing more as he reentered the home, and made his way for the front door.

* * *

Hours passed before Sun came into the safe house once again. He slowly pushed the front door open and slipped his shoes off near the door before beginning to walk slowly down the hall. A quick glance at the clock in the living room told him that it was just after midnight, and he cursed under his breath at the idea of staying out so long. Sun quickened his pace slightly until he reached the room he shared with Blake, and cracked the door only to find the lights out and a figure in the bed.

"…Blake?" Sun tried in a breathy whisper as he stepped inside and gently pushed the door closed.

"I'm awake," came the conversational response. "You don't have to whisper."

Sun's eyes adjusted quickly to the dark as he began to unroll his sleeves, and finally tossed his shirt and pauldron over a nearby chair. He then got to work on undoing his massive belt before slipping off his shorts, and depositing them atop the seat.

"Gotcha. Sorry I've been gone, I just… needed some time to think about… stuff."

"It's okay," Blake replied, unmoving from her spot beneath the covers. She kept her gaze on the wall across from herself as Sun moved into bed beside her and cradled her back. "I… kinda did, too."

Sun snaked a hand around Blake's stomach as he pressed in close to her bare back, and trailed the other hand along the curvature of her hip. The total lack of fabric along her smooth skin caused him to blush slightly, though any thoughts of her body quickly faded as his mind began to nag at him once again.

"I spoke to Ruby. She told me that you want to go with Kali."

"…of course she did," Blake said, her voice full of disappointment.

Neither of the teens said a word as the wall clock continued to tick quietly. What felt like days passed before Sun tightened his grip upon Blake, and planted a gentle kiss within her hair.

"…I think… it's okay."

"Sun, _no,_ I can't," Blake insisted as she turned on her side to face him. "The reason I didn't want her to say anything is because I need to be here for you, and I know that, b-"

Sun pressed a soft finger to Blake's lips, and gave her a sympathetic look. "You need to be there for Kali, too. For our _people_. Your blade helped rally Kuo Kuana to actually get up and _do_ something about Adam, and your voice could help sway them out from under Cinnamon. Going to Atlas… you're just asking for more discrimination, and suffering. I'll carry that burden for both of us, and come out smiling when I get to see you again. I've been thinking about this for hours, and… if your heart is really telling you that with Kali is where you need to be for a little while, I want you to follow it."

"It's not my heart, Sun. My heart is begging me to stay with you, support you, and be your rock like I promised I would. It's my brain that's the problem," Blake said as she shook her head. "I would feel awful going with Mom. You need me, Sun… and I need you."

"And we'll have our time, together, once immediate problems are taken care of," Sun insisted. "I'm building a support network to help me deal with things. So far, it's… it's helping, a little, and making me feel like I can at least function. Neptune and Ilia are being great, and I tried meditating with Yang, this morning… after forgetting last night. She's been surprisingly cool toward me."

"That's good, but _still_ ," Blake pressed, only for Sun to kiss her forehead.

"I'm _okay_ , for now. We both know that if you come with me, and the need to help Kali is nagging at you, I'm going to get worried and obsess over helping you. I want you to follow your instinct, Blake, and I'll keep it together until we can hook back up with the rest of the team. Please, trust me?" Sun requested.

"…you know I do. That isn't fair," Blake complained.

Sun pressed his forehead to Blake's, and sighed. "None of this is. Let's talk about it more tomorrow, and make a final decision with clear heads."

"Okay, but… just so you know, Mom's planning something for the three of us to do in place of a proper funeral for Ghira, tomorrow. He's already been cremated, and it's going to be small, but… I know it hit you really hard, Sun. Maybe even harder than me," Blake said.

Sun gave Blake one final kiss, and pulled her in to rest her head against his neck. "Maybe, but let's not make it a contest. Let's just be here for each other, in whatever time we have left before the mission. Goodnight, Blake."

"…goodnight, Sun. Please try to sleep."

Sun merely grunted, before closing his eyes. Despite making an honest effort, his racing mind kept him wide awake.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

As a heads up, the final chapter before the hiatus will be 64. I wrote it last night, and it is one _hell_ of a chapter.

"Just curious, did you ever get writers block while writing this, like how did you push through and manage to push out high quality chapters regularly?"

No writer's block, though I will admit that there were several chapters where Point A and Point B existed, but I just decided to wing it for the events in between. Sometimes, _entire chapters_ just came out of nowhere, which is partially why this has turned into an over 218,000 word beast by the time the hiatus hits. My writing process is actually incredibly simple- come home from work, decide if I'm happy with the gap between the next update and the number of chapters ahead I am, and if not, throw on some ASMR and write.

Honestly, this entire story was born out of frustration with canon over shoving Sun off to the side, likely because too many characters would be onscreen at once if he, Neptune, and Ilia stayed around. I'm one of those people who cannot _stand_ Bumbleby, to the point that I think it makes both Blake and Yang much less interesting, despite loving both of them individually. Those two things combined were motivation enough to start this story and keep it rolling. I have a _lot_ of frustrations with canon, and even some with how this story is shackled to it in some ways, since it started in Volume 4. That particular problem is something I intend to address once we hit the hiatus. If you think _this_ story is big, just wait until you see what's coming next.

If anyone has any other questions about this story, specifics about RWBY, or writing in general, I'd be happy to answer!

 **-RD**


	58. Old Wounds

An uncomfortable silence passed between Sun, Blake, and Kali as they sat upon the floor of the Haven Academy headmaster's office. A silver urn with purple banded accents at the top and bottom stood silently in the center of their formation, reflecting orange glows from the nearby fireplace. Blake leaned heavily into Sun and kept one of her hands intertwined with his, while Kali sat across from the two of them. The older faunus and her daughter had both let tears slip throughout the quiet little ceremony, while Sun simply felt hollow as he stared at the object.

"…I don't even know what to say," he began. "I feel like I've just let it all out between tears, screaming, and fights over the past few days. Seeing him like this makes it all feel pointless. Like we failed."

Kali shook her head and wiped her eyes against one of her sleeves. "The fact that we have this room to sit in means that we won. He would be proud of both of you, for everything you've done since that night. Hundreds of students will have a place to call home for the coming semester thanks to our family. Ghira died defending that ideal, and upholding peace between humans and faunus."

"Humans aren't the problem, right now," Blake said in a rough voice that sounded more like a croak than anything. "Adam's extremism brought this down on us, and if he isn't permanently stopped, more families will be doing what we're doing right now. I need to know that he's taken care of."

Sun offered Blake a light squeeze around the shoulders, followed by a kiss on the cheek. "He will be. Cinnamon's handling that part for us, so we can take care of this relic. Had Ghira known about the relics and the fight to defend them, you know he'd do everything in his power to keep them secure. I'll personally see to it that the relic is put away somewhere safe, and that Cinnamon follows through, if that's what it takes to make you feel content."

"There you go again," Kali mused. "Everything before yourself, just like Ghira. You wear his colors and armor well, Sun."

Sun heaved a sigh, and looked down at his deep purple shirt and the familiar metallic belt. "Wearing this… I don't know. It helps, somehow, and I need all the help I can get."

"…which is why I should go with you," Blake added as she looked up at him. Sun tensed and shifted in his spot upon the floor.

"Blake, now really isn't the time…"

"Now is the _best_ time," she protested. "With Mom here, and Dad as my witness, I want this to be decided."

Kali frowned as she rose to a standing position and walked over to the headmaster's desk. She ran her fingers along the polished wood as she looked over the ornaments, and kept her voice low.

"…are you suggesting that there's an alternative to going with Sun?"

Sun looked away as Kali made her way back around the desk. "Blake… wants to go with you, but she also thinks she should go with my squad. I'm telling her to go and help the Black Claw, while she's insisting that it's not an option, no matter how badly she feels like she should."

Kali stopped walking and locked eyes with her daughter. A silent conversation occurred between the two women, and Blake was the first to hang her head and look away.

"…Mom, that isn't fair…"

"He's _right_ here, Blake. Ghira would have told you to put duty before personal needs, and Sun is telling you the same thing, now. We're all making sacrifices in order to keep our friends, and the _world_ safe and make forward progress. The part of you that knows that, the part of you that came from your father, is the part telling you to come with me. There is no better way to honor Ghira than to let yourself do this," Kali finished.

"Listen to your mom and I. _Please_ ," Sun added alongside another squeeze. "I'll be okay, until we see each other again. Even if things aren't great for me right now, I'll power through it."

"And what if _I_ won't be okay without you?" Blake asked as she looked up at Sun. "What if I've only become strong because I had you for support?"

"Then the only way to know for sure is to take that support away, for a time," Kali pointed out. "I'll be with you, ready and willing to help you through any rough patches. Your voice, your experiences, and potentially your combat skills will be invaluable to establishing a foothold for the Claw."

Blake let out one final, heavy sigh of protest before hanging her head again in resignation as she opened her mouth to address the floor.

"Sun… are you really going to manage, without me?"

"…I'll have to. It's going to suck, but… when I was alone last night, thinking through this over and over, I realized something else. The biggest stumbling block in our relationship is that when something goes wrong for you, I won't let myself focus on anything else. It's irritating you, it's wearing me down, and there's no fixing it. If we have some time apart, and my squad's trip to Atlas gives me the kind of time alone that I think it might… I'll _have_ to focus on myself. We should consider this a small test. A test for you, to see if I've really helped you stand on your own, and a test for me, to see if I can start… admitting my problems and facing them head-on," Sun grumbled.

Kali finally returned to the teens, and knelt to pick up Ghira's urn. "The pair of you willingly sacrificing so much is heartbreaking to see… but it also shows me that you've both grown. That growth only exists because of your bond. Without it, the things you've both experienced would have broken you. Blake, will you come with me? I could use backup from someone I know I can trust."

Blake finally looked back up at her mother, and nodded once. "I will. For the sake of everyone, except for myself."

"And Sun," Kali continued, "will you promise to use the time away from my daughter to work at improving yourself, and growing into who you want to be?"

"I will," Sun said without hesitation.

"Then it's decided," Kali confirmed as she offered the urn to Blake. "Please, take him back to the safe house. He'll be journeying with us, and he'll be given a seat of honor within our new headquarters."

"Do you know where we're going to start?" Blake asked as she accepted the cold metal container.

"In what will become the fifth kingdom," Kali replied. "The Mistrali government isn't being of any help to us, and it's gotten to the point that they're threatening to eject us from the city if we continue. We're headed back to Menagerie. We'll be going home soon, rebuilding the manor, and turning it into a beacon of dialogue and change. One day, we'll have an equal stake in the political affairs of Remnant… partially due to the role that Sun is going to play in securing the relic of knowledge."

Sun smirked as the details of the plan came together. "You can count on me!"

Blake gave her mother a conflicted look and one last nod before carrying the urn out of the office. Sun moved to follow, only for Kali's voice to stop him in his tracks.

"…Sun. A moment?"

Sun took one final step forward to close the door to the office before turning on his heel and approaching Kali once again.

"What's up?"

Kali sauntered forward and lightly placed her hand in the center of Sun's chest, only to earn a small blush from the boy.

"This may be the last time we see each other or get to talk for quite a long time. None of us know if and when Raven will be found, or start to cooperate. I have faith that Ruby and Ozpin can get it done, but… no matter what, in two months' time, if we have no word from the others, I'm sending Blake your way. I wouldn't dare keep her from you any longer. Stay in Atlas until that time, so you don't miss her. Please."

Sun's heart fluttered a bit, and he gave the woman a firm nod. "We will. Thanks, Kali. I'm putting on a brave face for her sake, but… I'm worried."

"I know, Sun. We all are," Kali reassured. "But I want you to know one other thing, as well. No matter what happens from this point forward, you will always be a Belladonna, in my eyes. I'm proud of you, and I'm looking forward to seeing your future with my daughter."

Kali took another step forward and wrapped Sun in a bone-crushing hug, which he happily returned.

"What, no jokes about sex this time?" Sun teased.

"Not this time, no. Just take my words to heart, and know that when the fight is over, you'll have a family to come back to in Menagerie," Kali reassured.

Sun pulled back, and gave Kali a sad smile. "Thanks. Is it weird if I call you… 'Mom'?"

Kali quirked a brow, and shook her head. "I've been called weirder things before. Be seeing you, son."

Sun offered a small wave, and moved out of the office to follow Blake.

* * *

Heavy footfalls echoed in the hall as Sage's boots thumped against the wooden floor. He rolled his neck with a groan as he made his way back through the safe house and toward the living room, only to stop momentarily as the sound of several voices echoed within. Sage frowned to himself and shook his head before continuing on his path and stepping into the spacious room.

"…something like that. He seems pretty beat up about it, too," Ruby said from her position on the loveseat while looking over at Nora and Ren. The noise from Sage's footsteps drew her attention, and she stood to greet him with a cheery grin. "Oh, hey there! Nice to see you, Sage!"

"…yeah… sure," Sage agreed with a forced smile.

"What brings you back so soon? Come to hang out with the cool kids?" Nora asked as she laced her hands behind her head and closed her eyes with a self-assured smirk.

Sage folded his arms and remained a good distance away from the trio as he eyed up the décor of the room. "Nah, not so much that. I just came by to see if there's anything you or the professor want done, before we head out."

Ruby flopped back onto the couch and patted the cushion beside herself. "Hm… we should do a supply run before we go, but I think that's something that would be best to do together."

"Additionally, you're already putting yourself out there by agreeing to come with a team that shares no members with the one you're used to," Ren added. "It seems unfair to ask more of you, individually. Sun told us all how you were willing to make that sacrifice and stick to this path, despite the difficulties of being away from your friends."

Sage finally began to move and sat down next to Ruby as he kept his arms folded, and eyes upon the coffee table. "Did he, now?"

"Uh huh!" Nora agreed as she leaned forward again. "There's a pretty good chance that Salem is gonna send her worst after us, once she learns we're carrying the 'relic', if you get what I'm sayin'. It's pretty cool of you to stick with it. Wish we had a guy like that with us at Haven."

A hot wave of nauseating guilt hit Sage as he grit his teeth. "Yeah, about that…"

Sage never got a chance to finish his thought as he felt a tiny hand rest upon his shoulder. He looked off to the side, only to find Ruby giving him a sympathetic look.

"It's okay, Sage. We know you would've rushed in to help, if you had known. Things got a little crazy, and Sun told us he didn't even consider that you might have been here and able to help all along. It's what happens next that's _really_ important, and hearing that you're so willing to help out is great. We'll treat you just like you've been with us the whole time!" Ruby reassured as she patted the shoulder of Sage's coat.

Sage's mind raced as he sat in stunned silence. He shifted to clasp his hands between his legs as he leaned forward, and found his palms growing hot and uncomfortable.

"…so, ah, tell me about this… _Salem_ woman. What exactly do you mean by her 'worst'?"

"Salem is the queen of grimm," Ren began. "Apparently, she's capable of spawning and controlling them, from the individual to the army. If a relic is in play, then she's sure not to go easy on us. Fortunately, Ruby, Nora, and I are used to fighting as a unit, and from what Sun has told us of your abilities, you should fit right in."

"Yeah!" Nora agreed as she raised a fist into the air. "Sun talked you up to us quite a bit this morning. Seems to me like he's got faith that you'll be ready to go on the front lines."

Ruby nodded in agreement, and rocked herself forward to jump back into a standing position. "Nora's right. I think I'm gonna get some milk from the fridge. You want anything, Sage?"

A bead of sweat trickled down Sage's back, and elicited a full-body shiver. "I think… water would be good."

"Water it is!" Ruby said with a nod before heading off to the kitchen. Sage watched her go, before turning back to face Ren and Nora.

"…are you alright?" Ren asked. "You don't look well."

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," Sage insisted. "You wouldn't happen to know where Sun got off to, would ya?"

Nora threw a hand forward in a dismissive motion, and shook her head. "He told us he and Blake would be gone for the day, but he didn't say where. Probably makin' out in their bedroom in secret."

" _Nora!_ " Ren interjected. "Please, don't speculate about our comrades' personal lives!"

"What? It's true!" Nora insisted, before looking back to Sage. "Why, are you worried about him? He seemed a little down, but he said he'd be okay when I asked."

"…guess you could say that, yeah," Sage agreed as he took out his scroll. "He really talked to you three about our team, this morning?"

"For quite some time, yes," Ren replied. "He also told us that he feels awful for leaving you, Neptune, and Scarlet behind while helping Blake."

"And that he thinks he's a pretty awful leader," Ruby added as she walked back into the room with two glasses. She handed Sage the one filled with clear liquid, and sat back down heavily. "He actually talked to Jaune and I about that last night, too. Personally, I think that with as much as he cares about everyone here, he's among the best. He just had to make a tough call, and he hates that you and Neptune had to suffer for it."

Sage took a long drink of water, and exhaled through his nose. "You know Blake pretty well, right? Do you think Sun made the right call, running after her?"

Ren and Nora exchanged nervous looks as Ruby set her glass down upon the coffee table and gave Sage her full attention.

"Honestly… yeah, I do. Blake's been so battered and abused by so many things in her life that the attack on Beacon was her breaking point. I think Sun ran after her in a snap decision because he was afraid of what she might do, either to herself or others, at her lowest point."

Ren nodded along with Ruby's statement. "While I doubt that it was easy without him, you had Neptune and Scarlet, and he trusted the three of you to support each other. When Blake left us, she had no one."

"…and yet all the three of us did was fight about what to do next, and whether or not Sun made the right call," Sage replied. He drained his glass and put it next to Ruby's on the table, before standing up and beginning to tap on his scroll. "I think I need some air."

"Yeah, it gets a little stuffy in here," Nora commented. "We'll be here for ya, when you get back."

Sage nodded slowly, and walked out the glass doors to the lawn. He tapped a few more times and turned the scroll off before pocketing it, and heading toward the fence. Silently, he leaned against the wood and cursed softly to himself before shaking his head.

"…damn it, Sun. You're not making this easy…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

So, just to recap, because it can get a little confusing:

-Ruby, Oscar/Ozpin, Ren, Nora, and Sage are headed... _somewhere_ to attempt to find Raven.

-Blake, Kali, Qrow, and Neptune are headed for Menagerie to establish the Claw and push for a fifth kingdom.

-Sun, Ilia, Yang, Weiss, and Jaune are off to Atlas, with the relic of knowledge.

Tomorrow's chapter is one of my personal favorites. It includes two very specific events that a lot of people have been asking for for a _long_ time...

 **-RD**


	59. Catch and Release

_Thanks again for setting this up. I'll keep it civil._

Kali tapped the 'send' button with a finger, and watched curiously as three bubbles appeared on her scroll to indicate an incoming response.

 _No problem. Good luck._

With a conflicted smirk, Kali swiped out of the conversation and back to her contacts, hiding the message chain behind a portrait of Ilia. She powered down the scroll and put it away, before taking a deep inhale through her nose and out her mouth as she rested her arms atop the table. Kali leaned her head back into the headrest of the booth, and mumbled to herself.

"Come _on_ , where are you?"

With an annoyed grunt, Kali leaned out to survey the restaurant floor once again. The place was packed with customers at booths and tables alike, and the noise they made was accentuated by servers shuffling through the aisles and gaps while carrying trays of food and drinks. Kali leaned back into her booth after failing to spot her quarry once again, and began to rhythmically tap her nails against the polished wood.

"She's doing this to piss me off, I swear," Kali mused to herself.

"I'm sorry!"

Kali looked up in surprise, only to find a red-haired waitress carrying an empty glass and pitcher of water while looking incredibly guilty. "I'll try to be faster, next time!"

"Oh, not you!" Kali reassured as she flattened her ears. "I was just… never mind," she said with a sigh as the waitress put the glass down and filled it. "Sorry."

"It's okay," the woman replied. Quite suddenly, she looked up with a horrified expression and backed away slightly as another woman slipped into the booth, opposite of Kali. Cinnamon propped her elbows up on the table immediately and looked up at the waitress with narrowed eyes, before her mouth twisted into a sneer.

"What? Never seen spines before?"

"N-no, I wasn't… I mean, I haven't… but it isn't a problem, really!" the freckled waitress stammered.

"Ugh, _whatever_ ," Cinnamon said with a wave of her hand. "Water's fine. Leave us."

The waitress scurried away with a nervous look, as Kali glared daggers at Cinnamon.

"You _really_ need to work on your people skills."

"And _you_ should pay more attention. Did you see the way she looked at me?" Cinnamon asked in a huff. "Everywhere I go, people keep their distance as though I'm about to start randomly stabbing pedestrians with these things. It gets old."

Kali leaned back once again, and folded her arms across her chest. "Maybe it has less to do with your spines, and more to do with your attitude. You entered like a hurricane."

"And I'll exit like one, too," Cinnamon threatened as she leaned back and folded her hands in her lap. "But none of that matters. _She_ doesn't matter. You wanted to talk business, so let's talk."

One of Kali's ears flicked in annoyance as she leaned forward slightly to take her straw between her lips. She took a long pull of water, before resting back against the cushioned headrest.

"You know… that's kinda my point, Cinnamon. How exactly are you planning to broker peace between human and faunus when every human you meet _doesn't matter?_ "

Cinnamon flashed her teeth at the question, and leaned forward toward Kali as she hissed. " _They_ will matter to me once _we_ start mattering to them. You have no idea what I've been through, or how many interactions I've had with humans that ended in violence initiated by _them_."

"Then tell me," Kali replied simply as the waitress approached once again. The girl's hand shook as she set down Cinnamon's glass and filled it, before offering the woman a straw. Cinnamon slowly took it with a heavy sigh, and dropped her glare for all of a second.

" _…thanks_ ," Cinnamon hissed.

"Sure," the woman offered with a nervous smile. "Will you be having anything else?"

"…I'll think about it," Cinnamon said as she looked back to Kali, her glare back in full effect. The waitress nodded again, and made a hasty retreat as Cinnamon looked off to the side. "I'm not telling you _anything_. We're not friends, Kali, and we're barely allies. My personal business and dealings with humans in the past are exactly that- _personal_. I've seen their true nature, and it's not something I'd expect you to understand."

Kali shifted awkwardly in her seat and took another sip. "Did they do something to your family, or…?"

Cinnamon's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits as she removed the paper from her straw, and quite nearly threw the plastic tube down into her drink. " _No_ , and if all you're going to do tonight is attempt to psychoanalyze me, I'm leaving. You're not getting a sob story out of me, regardless of your intentions. I know who I am, what I've done, and what I'm _going_ to do. Whether or not you can say the same is going to determine which of us is successful."

Kali breathed a heavy sigh, and shook her head. "Fine. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for whatever happened to you."

"Good for you. I hope that helps you sleep tonight," Cinnamon replied as she took a quick drink. "What _exactly_ are you planning to do with this Black Claw nonsense?"

"Straight to the punch, then?" Kali asked with a grimace. "Not what I'd hoped, to be honest. Every single day, I'm getting more heat from the local law enforcement. I have a bad feeling that if my group doesn't skip town by tomorrow, I may be behind bars. Fortunately, the counterfeit relic should be good to go by morning, and we can get out of here. I'm heading back to Menagerie to rebuild, and start taking steps to turn it into the fifth kingdom."

Cinnamon snorted, though the sound was quite different from her usual irritated grunts and sighs. The snort was chased by a light bout of laughter, before she brought a hand to her face and earned an unimpressed look from Kali.

"The _fifth kingdom?_ Are you serious? It's _never_ going to happen. They'll only let you get to a certain size before you're seen as a threat, and they come up with an excuse to get rid of you and yours. Asking for a gradual buildup to acceptance is asking for a war, and the longer it takes, the more they'll come to resent you for looming in the corner, cloying and begging for attention from their peripherals."

The waitress returned once again and deposited a basket of seasoned fries upon the table before Kali, who was fuming. The human girl cast a quick glance over to Cinnamon, who waved a dismissive hand, and then she left the table once again as Kali rubbed at her chin.

"Then what are _you_ planning to do? Start slaughtering them until they respect you?"

"Not quite, no. I'm going to get us _immediate_ and significant attention. Enough to make it known that the White Fang can't just be looked at as an annoyance or fringe group anymore. The world will respect us because I will demand it, and I see few better opportunities than rallying against Salem," Cinnamon stated plainly.

Kali's eyes widened as she lowered her tone to a whisper. "You… but then, why not join in with the others at the safe house? Why separate yourself, and just keep it among the Fang? Cinnamon, Salem is a problem that goes beyond racial pride, and trying to make a dent in her armor alone isn't something to take lightly at all, from what I understand."

"Maybe not," Cinnamon agreed. "And maybe I _should_ ally with all of you… but I don't take orders. I don't _do_ the whole 'follower' thing. I can't trust people, and especially not _humans_ , to have control over me in any significant capacity. I have my reasons."

"Those reasons apparently didn't stop you from letting Adam lead you around," Kali pointed out as she took a few fries and began to nibble upon them.

"Is that how you saw it?" Cinnamon asked as she picked up her glass of water and looked down to the ice cubes, before taking a long drink. "I've been leading him for longer than you know. All it took was honeyed words and sex, and he became clay in my hands, just like any other man. I've been the reason and roadblock behind his every major failure, and the puppeteer waiting to cut the strings and let him crumple as soon as the moment was right. _This_ is that moment."

Kali paused, and pointed an accusatory fry in Cinnamon's direction. "If that's completely true, then _you_ let Sienna Khan die, and _you_ allowed the fall of Beacon Academy."

"Sacrifices had to be made," Cinnamon sneered. "I couldn't manipulate _everything_ without raising suspicion, and Adam is still a person in his own right. He made decisions I wasn't aware of, and I was too late to stop them, in both of those cases. I never said I was _perfect_ , b-"

"And both of those cases alone should be proof enough that you can't do this alone!" Kali insisted as she slammed a hand down upon the table. "You may be good, and you may be helpful, but you're not a messiah for the faunus! Neither am I, Cinnamon! If you were willing to work together with me, we could get _so_ much more done than either of us could do on our own! I'm not even asking you to follow me- I'm asking for your help, as an _equal_. Is that unreasonable?"

"It is to me," Cinnamon said with a sense of finality as she set down her empty glass. "You have _no_ idea what I've done, given up, and suffered through to get this far. You don't know how far I'm willing to go, and how far you'll _need_ to go to make any sort of real impact. I can say right now that when the opportunity arrives to break out onto the world stage, you won't have what it takes to make the call to take action. All of those factors mean that you're not fit for this, and I won't hear any more of it."

Cinnamon slipped out of the booth and rose to stand as Kali looked up at her.

"And what the hell does _that_ mean? What exactly are you going to do that I wouldn't be 'ready' for?"

"…keep a line of communication open, if you want, but that's as far as I'm willing to go," Cinnamon retorted. "I'll send someone to Menagerie so we can keep each other aware and avoid stepping on toes, but I'm doing this _my_ way. Expect warnings. Not compromise."

Kali opened her mouth to speak, and closed it again as Cinnamon walked off without sparing her so much as a wave. With one last, heavy sigh, Kali took out her scroll and powered it on, before tapping on Ilia's icon once again and letting her thumbs dance across the screen.

 _It didn't go well, but it could have gone worse. Do you know anything about Cinnamon's past?_

Kali watched her screen carefully as she picked up a few more fries and stuffed them into her mouth. A reply showed up as being in progress, only for the three dots to disappear. The pattern repeated two more times, before finally, a new message popped into the conversation.

 _She won't open up to anyone. I can't help you._

Kali narrowed her eyes into a suspicious glare, before turning off her scroll and returning to her fries in silence.

* * *

Sun fought back the urge to focus on anything particular as he continued to breathe in and out slowly. The sensation of the weight of his arms upon his crossed legs seemed to slip away into nothingness as he kept up the steady breathing, and after a while, he could no longer feel his tail touching the blades of grass behind him. The endless fields of red and black provided by his eyelids seemed to swirl and dance within his vision, and for an unmeasurable amount of time, he felt at peace.

"Sun? Hey, Sun!"

Sun squinted his eyes momentarily, before allowing them to flutter open. Disoriented, he blinked several times before he realized that the sensation of a hand on his shoulder was coming from the right, and he moved his eyes to follow it. Yang stood next to him with a wry smirk, and offered a small nod.

"That was much better. It's been two hours."

Quite suddenly, all feelings of peace and contentment left Sun's body in a wave of panic.

"Two hours!? But… we didn't…"

"What can I say? You needed it bad," Yang replied before offering him a metal hand. Sun accepted it, and pulled himself up. "What were you thinking about?"

"I don't… nothing, I guess?" Sun admitted with a sheepish grin. Yang punched him lightly in the arm in response, and gave him an encouraging smile.

" _Perfect_. Now, you're starting to get it. How are you feeling?"

Sun shrugged, and found that his tail had started to swish gently behind him. "I dunno. It's… weird. 'Light', I guess, is the only way I can really describe it?"

"I'd call that progress. Same time tomorrow night?" Yang asked as she stretched out.

"Absolutely. I really owe you one, Yang," Sun offered with a small wave as he made his way back to the house.

"Don't mention it," she replied as she began to head off into town.

Sun breathed in deeply as he walked into the hall and made a beeline for the bedroom. He grabbed the door handle gently and walked inside, only to find Blake waiting for him in her black nightie upon the bed.

"Hey," he greeted with a genuine smile as he hung around near the door, simply taking in Blake in all of her beauty.

"Hey, yourself. How'd it go?" Blake asked, her tone a deep and curious one.

"Pretty good, actually," Sun said as he took a step toward the bed. "I eve-"

"Stop," Blake commanded as she sat up slightly. "Lock the door."

The tip of Sun's tail twitched in anticipation as he turned and locked the door behind himself. "Um… sure. Everything okay?"

"More than okay," Blake answered as Sun turned back to her and flung his shirt back over the usual chair. "I just don't want any interruptions, tonight. I'm leaving tomorrow, you know."

"…I know," Sun said with a sigh as he made his way to the bed while undoing his belt and letting his shorts drop. The tingly comfort that had flooded his chest from the meditation session dissipated immediately, to be replaced by a heavy pit in his stomach. "Trust me, I cleared my schedule entirely for kisses and cuddles. I'm all yours."

"I'll hold you to that," Blake warned as she accepted Sun into a close hug. The two kissed passionately as they worked themselves into a tangled embrace, and Blake put her leg up and over Sun's hip as she rolled him over and took position atop his chest.

"I bet you will," Sun chuckled through a light blush. "I'm going to miss you so much… but this is going to work. Ozpin and Ruby are going to pull through, and we'll be together again before you know it."

"I know. I have faith in them, and even more in you," Blake reassured as she began to trail kisses down Sun's neck. "I've made peace with it… and I know we're going to make it. All of us, and _us_."

Sun considered the words, and let his hands linger around Blake's hips. "I love you, Blake."

"And I love you," Blake replied automatically as she sealed the words with another kiss. Sun melted into the sensation of her lips, before his eyes shot open at a familiar freezing sensation in a very unfamiliar place.

"B-blake!?" he questioned as he looked down, only to find his suspicions confirmed. Blake's right hand was beneath the waistband of his boxers, and out of sight. She slowly raised the other to reveal a small square green wrapper, and waved it slowly back and forth. Sun's heart began to pound as he put the actions together in his mind, and Blake gave him a sultry smile.

"…given that we're about to spend a lot of time apart… how about we make tonight one to remember?"

Sun's breathing quickened and he squirmed slightly, before giving a hesitant nod. "Just… help me out, a little bit? I'm… I don't know…"

"I've got you," Blake said in a comforting tone. "I'll guide you the entire way."

Sun closed his eyes as Blake got to work on preparing him, and shivered in anticipation as he felt her bite his bottom lip.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _SEX! Komm zu mir!_

Err, I mean, and then Blake unwrapped the chocolate-covered mint, they shared it, and went to sleep without doing anything else. Yup.

That's as far as details will go to keep this at a T rating, but I'm sure you can fill in the blanks. The period of rest is drawing to a close, and it's time to enter the whirlwind. See you all tomorrow.

 **-RD**


	60. One Last Gathering

Sun stretched awake with a soft moan and rapidly blinked several times. He slid backward to prop himself up against the pillows, and shook out his right foot to disentangle the sheets spiraled up and around his leg. A massive yawn escaped him, and he squinted across the room at the wall clock to find that it read _11:06_.

"… _shit_ ," Sun cursed to himself. A hiss escaped him as he twisted slightly and a shooting pain gripped his chest. He looked down to see several light scars from nails upon his pecs, and began to blush profusely as the memory of the previous night came flooding back to him.

"…double shit."

Sun smiled despite himself and slipped out of bed, only to find his discarded boxers tangled around his toes upon the floor. He kicked them aside toward his fallen cargo shorts and made his way to the bathroom to look in the mirror, where he found a bright red spot upon the right side of his neck, along with more marks from where Blake's nails had dug into his shoulders.

"…and there's the triple. I am _never_ gonna hear the end of this…"

Sun's grin remained firmly in place despite the reality of the situation as he peeled off the bandage on his side to reveal a raised scar. He grimaced and stepped into the shower, before he got to work cleansing himself of small trails of dried blood and the remnants of other fluids. Upon finishing, he went through his usual morning routine before heading back out into the main room and putting his clothes back on. Almost automatically, he took out his scroll and tapped the screen to wake the device, only for his heart to skip a beat.

A large banner greeted him with a simple, but effective message.

 _TRANSFER COMPLETE- S. AYANA_

Sun frantically swiped through the various applications on his phone before pulling up his bank account, and saw that the full amount he had transferred to Sage had been returned.

"That son of a bitch," Sun mused. He flipped back to his contacts and scrolled down to Sage, only to find that there was no signal at all. His heart sank as he looked back up at the clock, and realization washed over him.

"Oh, no… come on, don't tell me they left already…"

Sun pushed his way through the bedroom door and paused, before hastily beginning to button up his dress shirt with a hot blush. He popped his collar to hide the hickey, and made hasty strides down the hall and toward the front door. Several fewer pairs of shoes were present in the foyer, and Sun's heart rate quickened as he pulled his scroll out once again.

Ruby, Ren, Nora, and Sage's signals were all nonexistent, while everyone else's remained close by. Sun's tail drooped slightly as he accepted defeat with a weary sigh, and put a hand to his forehead. He mumbled to himself as he headed for the living room, only to be jolted awake by an abrasive voice.

"Loverboy awakens. Blake told us to let you sleep, on account of how badly you've been grinding yourself down," Qrow said while swirling a glass of amber liquid from his place upon the couch. He brought the glass to his lips and let out an almost pained noise, before tilting it toward Sun. "The team going after Raven already left. Kali, Blake, Neptune, and I are heading out sometime in the next hour or so, once they get back. We would've woken you if it got to that point, but you saved us the trouble. Probably a good idea to say your goodbyes, kid."

"Yeah, I will," Sun said as he crossed his arms over his chest. The sensation of fabric over his abs felt so very _wrong_ , but he decided to suffer through it to protect what dignity he had left. "Thanks for letting me sleep. I needed it, but… the others aren't mad, are they?"

Qrow shook his head before draining his glass entirely and keeping a hand atop the lip as he placed the container upon the armrest. "Nah. Sage in particular took Blake's side, and the others didn't make an issue of it. Come and sit, for a minute?"

"Uh… sure?" Sun said curiously as he walked over and sat down across from Qrow. The older man nodded his head toward the sliding glass door that led to the lawn, before transferring his glass to the coffee table and leaning forward to rest his forearms atop his thighs.

"Listen- most of the others are in the back yard having a cookout, and Kali's off doing a last minute supply run with Blake. I want to talk to you a little bit, man to man, before you go and join them. Think you can handle that?"

Sun raised a brow as he leaned back into the cushions of the loveseat, his arms still crossed. "I'll try, sure."

"First of all, I'm sorry if I came off as a little rough around the edges. It's nothing personal, but we're all under a lot of pressure, and things haven't exactly been going my way, lately. I'm sure you can relate," Qrow said with an outward hand gesture.

Sun shook his head, and looked away toward the glass doors. "You have no idea. I don't blame you for how you were, the other night. A lot of people with a lot of different needs are caught up in this, and things got kinda heated. Someone had to take charge. First it was you, and then it was me."

"And that's exactly what I want to talk to you about," Qrow replied. "Moving forward, _you_ are the leader of the team with the most dangerous job out of the three. Not only are you volunteering to break into the most heavily fortified and paranoid city on Remnant, but if and when Salem finds out what you're up to, she's not going to hold back. I hope you understand what you're in for."

"Campfire stories and singalongs aren't what I'm betting on. We'll be ready. I promise," Sun said with a firm nod. "Yang's an incredible fighter, Weiss and Ilia give us unique tactical advantages and open a lot of doors, and Jaune can heal us if an encounter goes wrong… or amp any of us to swing fights if we run into something we couldn't otherwise handle."

"And what can you do?" Qrow asked "What do you bring to the table, besides having balls big enough to speak up and challenge the professor of a huntsman's academy?"

Sun pondered the question for a while, before looking up to meet Qrow's eyes. "I'll give up anything to protect them all, and the relic itself. I'm a jack of all trades sort of fighter and specialist, and I won't hesitate to throw myself into danger to give someone else an opportunity to make a move… or to live."

"Just make sure you let other people return the favor," Qrow warned. "I'm still working on that bit, myself."

"Tell me about it," Sun mumbled. "I'm trying. Thanks, though. I've got this."

"Then I'll trust you, and leave you to it. Kali speaks very highly of you, you know," Qrow said with a smirk.

"Kali's an amazing woman. Can you… do me a favor, and check in on her, every so often? She could use a friend that isn't half her age, for once," Sun requested.

"Sure. She did tell me about her husband, and I've picked up some details on how things went in Menagerie from conversations around the house. I'll take care of it," Qrow confirmed as he stood up and grabbed his glass from the table. "Do _me_ a favor, before your team gets out of here?"

"Of course," Sun offered as he stood after Qrow.

"Wash the damned sheets, before you head off to Argus. I don't really care what you and Blake got up to, but the walls are thin in this place, and I can only imagine what it looks like in that room, now."

Sun laughed quietly, and scratched at the back of his head. "Yeah, of course. Um… my bad, I guess?"

Qrow waved a hand and turned to walk toward the kitchen. "As long as you had a good time, and clean up after yourself. Good luck out there."

Thoughts of just _how_ thin the walls were nagged at Sun's brain as he approached the glass door, and noticed a pile of duffel bags arranged against the wall beside it. His mouth tugged into a frown as he tore his eyes away from the ominous luggage, and stepped out into the back yard. Ilia was the first to notice him from her place at a picnic table across from Neptune, and she offered him an enthusiastic wave.

" _Hey!_ Come on over! Yang's cooking, because we took the spatula away from Neptune!"

Neptune swiveled in his seat and spoke through a mouth full of food. He held a hand to his chest dramatically while the other kept a firm grip on his paper plate.

" _You people_ just don't appreciate fine cuisine!"

"We don't appreciate our burgers looking like they were cooked in _hellfire_ ," Weiss replied from her place next to Ilia.

"Usually I wouldn't criticize, but… they _were_ pretty unforgivably burned," Jaune added from his place beside Neptune. The blue haired boy scooted slightly away from Jaune and gave him a death glare.

" _Traitor_. Us dudes need to stick together!"

Sun rolled his eyes and occupied the spot between the two other boys, as Yang looked over her shoulder from her position in front of the grill.

"What'll it be, Sun? Burgers? Dogs? Neptune? I could probably fit him on the grill if I _really_ worked at folding him efficiently."

"I'm all for that," Weiss chimed in as she gave Sun a smirk.

"Burger's good," Sun replied as he folded his hands in his lap. His eyes were slowly drawn to Ilia's as she looked him over, and he suddenly felt a slow and inevitable threat approaching.

"…since when do you button your shirt?"

Neptune looked over at Sun and raised a brow as he noticed the purple material covering Sun's usually exposed abs.

"Yeah, that _does_ look weird, but it also looks good."

"And it has the added benefit of not making Neptune and I look bad, by comparison," Jaune offered somewhat jokingly.

"Guys, it's no big deal," Sun insisted as his cheeks grew hot. "I just felt like changing it up a bi-"

"Pull his collar down," Ilia stated plainly as she nodded to Neptune. Neptune hiked a brow and dropped his hot dog to immediately make an attempt as Sun raised his hands and did his best to fight off his friend.

" _Dude_ , come on!"

"You're hiding something!" Neptune accused as he continued to flail and approach Sun's collar from various angles. Sun managed to deflect each set of pinching fingers that Neptune threw out, as the entire picnic table rocked slightly in place.

"Boys, _honestly!_ " Weiss complained as she shook her head. "Would you both stop acting so childish a-… what is _that?_ "

Neptune finally managed to tug Sun's collar down and exposed the reddened circle of flesh for all to see, as Sun's face quickly darkened to match its shade.

"…oh my _gods_ ," Ilia squealed with a devilish grin. " _Someone_ had fun last night!"

Jaune looked away immediately as Yang turned around in the middle of cooking and rolled her eyes skyward at the sight.

"Weiss is right. You people need to _grow up_. Couples fuck. It's what they do."

" _Yang!_ " Weiss said in breathless disbelief. "My poor ears!"

"Your ears are gonna get a lot worse than that, traveling with the four of us," Yang warned. "And to answer your question, that's a hickey. It's a sex thing, when you suck on someone's skin to leave a mark. It's usually ab-"

"Okay, that's enough of that!" Sun interrupted loudly as Weiss covered her ears, her cheeks and ears matching Sun's in their shade of red. "Can we all please just get over it and move on? I wouldn't pry into your relationships, so you can all go ahead and back off of mine any time, now."

Jaune cringed slightly as he observed the red spot with a mixture of both disgust and awe. "Yeah, probably because we're all single. You're lucky."

Ilia let out a loud snort as she continued to laugh into her hands, and Neptune wore a wide, irritating grin as he poked Sun in the side with a finger.

"I'll leave you alone… until _we're_ alone. Then, I want details!"

"Stop that!" Sun whined as he squirmed in his seat. "I've got a scar there, and it's still fresh! I just took the bandage off like ten minutes ago!"

"Alright, alright, that's enough fun at his expense," Yang ordered as she sat down next to Sun. She passed him a plate with a burger upon it, while keeping another in front of herself. "We've gotta focus."

Yang made a quick motion of sticking her fingers in her ears, and then popping them out while looking at Weiss. The smaller girl finally uncovered her ears and looked around the table, before returning to her burger.

"…please tell me it's safe"

"You're good," Ilia reassured as she patted Weiss on the shoulder. "We'll save the _real_ interrogation for when you're not around."

Sun rolled his eyes, and jabbed Neptune in the side with his free hand. "So, you're leaving soon?"

Neptune squirmed at the contact, and nearly choked on his food. He gagged dramatically before sipping from his paper cup, while Ilia continued to laugh at the scene.

"Uh, yeah, pretty soon. I'm gonna miss you."

Sun's tail flicked as he offered Neptune a sad smirk. "I'll miss you, too, even if you're a pain in the ass."

"Now, kiss," Ilia commanded as she finally got control of herself and brought her hands together over the table.

Neptune moved for Sun's lips without hesitation, only to be blocked by a fuzzy yellow tail that shot up from beneath the bench. Sun rolled his eyes as he used his extra appendage to push Neptune's head back, and focused his attention on his burger instead.

"Nothing personal, but I'm both taken, and not into dudes."

" _Boring_ ," Ilia complained.

"…you're really… _spirited_ ," Jaune commented from his place at the end of the bench. All eyes snapped to him as Ilia gave him a confused look. "I just mean… I haven't really seen you awake, much. I wasn't expecting you to be so… like you are."

"Is that a bad thing?" Ilia questioned with narrowed eyes.

"No! No, not at all!" Jaune insisted with a raised hand. "It's actually kinda nice. I was a little worried that our team might end up being pretty gloomy, since we're all… things are hard, right now. It's nice to have someone around who doesn't mind messing around a little. Not that anyone here is boring, or…" Jaune trailed off, beginning to look a little guilty.

"…it's okay, Jaune," Weiss said in a comforting tone. "You're right. Yang and I haven't exactly been the life of the party lately, and Sun…"

"…yeah," Sun agreed, before Weiss could find the words. "I haven't been myself at all, lately… but I'll try to bring some energy back into the mix, too."

Yang set her food down, and laced her fingers beneath her chin as she propped her elbows upon the table. "About that. We've got three days before we head out. I've been thinking that it'd be nice if we… each just kinda did our own thing, for the next two days, and then spent the last one together, before we head to the train station. Take some time to wind down, and then start bonding. We don't all _really_ know each other, here."

Weiss nodded along with Yang's suggestion, while Ilia remained silent. Jaune gave Sun an expectant look, and the faunus pointed to the center of his chest as he raised a brow.

"Well, what do you say?" Jaune asked. "You're our leader, now."

"You want me to just start making decisions for the good of the group?" Sun replied. "I mean, I can, but I figured this would be more of a democracy."

Weiss shook her head, her ponytail bouncing lightly with the gesture. "Someone has to be in charge, and all of this was your idea. If we had a problem with you taking control, we would've said something by now. So… what do you think?"

Sun nodded slowly, and cleared his throat. "Then that's what we'll do. Two days to ourselves, one together, and then we set out."

"See?" Neptune stated with an inflated sense of pride. "I told you all that Sun's the best. He'll take good care of you guys."

"Neptune…" Sun began as his shoulders drooped slightly.

"Nope. Don't wanna hear it. You actually care about everyone around you, and that's a rare trait, fit for a leader. You'll do great, and when we link up again, I'll be right back at your side as number two. For now, that honor can fall to Ilia."

Ilia rolled her eyes and stood from the table. "Oh, don't worry, Neptune. You'll _always_ be number two."

Yang smirked slightly, as Weiss and Jaune offered Ilia blank stares.

"…I don't get it," they said in unison.

Sun raised a hand to massage his temples as he checked his scroll, and tapped out a text to Blake.

 _I'm finally awake_. _You back soon?_

The reply came immediately, and Sun's stomach fluttered in a combination of warmth and worry.

 _Home in five._

Neptune stood to follow Ilia, and collected the used plates before making his way to the garbage can placed at the side of the house. "Well… I guess it's about that time…"

The others rose from the table in a disorganized fashion, and Sun was the last to stand.

"Looks that way. And… I feel awful, to be completely honest."

"So do I," Ilia agreed. "It… really won't be the same without you around."

Neptune turned back around from the garbage can with an oddly pensive look on his face as Ilia approached. He heaved a sigh and wrapped her into a tight hug, which Ilia returned using her unbroken arm.

"…we'll see each other again, and when we do, I want _double_ the sass from you to make up for lost time," Neptune mused. Ilia pulled back a bit and looked up at him with slightly moist eyes.

"…you'll get it, asshole. Be cool. Be _safe_ ," she insisted before leaning up and planting a kiss on Neptune's cheek.

"You too, babe," Neptune replied. Ilia stepped to the side as Sun made his way forward, one hand in his pocket and the other at his side as he took a long, deep breath.

"…what she said, basically," Sun attempted as he offered a hand. Neptune clasped it with his own and yanked Sun forward immediately into an even tighter hug, before patting him heavily on the back.

Neptune leaned forward to Sun's ear, and paused for a moment before whispering.

"…you got this. Stay strong, man."

Sun's lip twitched as he looked down at the grass, not quite as confident.

"…yeah," he replied as he broke the hug. "Take care of Blake, for me."

"You kidding me? I'll be taking care of _him_ ," Blake replied from her place leaning within the doorframe. Sun's heart leapt at the sight, and he stepped back from Neptune while she approached. He opened his mouth to speak, only for Blake to sneak in and capture it with her own before pulling him into an intense embrace. The kiss lasted for what seemed like an eternity to Sun, and he kept his grip on Blake's hips tight as she finally pulled back.

"… _wow_ ," Jaune commented from his place amongst Weiss and Yang, who had all decided to give the others some space by remaining near the picnic table. He pulled lightly at the collar of his hoodie as he cleared his throat. Weiss nodded, her ears, cheeks, and throat all a furious red.

"…wow indeed. You two… you're intense, I suppose."

"Sorry," Sun said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't apologize. It's nice to see, when everything else around us is so bad," Yang admitted with a knowing smirk. "Looks to me like you two really are in deep."

"…please don't embarrass me," Blake requested as she gave Yang a pleading look. Yang merely waved a hand, before approaching and offering the other to Blake.

"Now isn't the time. Next time we meet, though… no promises."

Blake accepted it, and then melted into a hug from Weiss as the shorter girl approached. "Thank you. Both of you…"

"…one more coming," Ilia said as she made her way over to Blake. "I'm trusting you to do what I couldn't."

"What you couldn't?" Blake asked as Ilia went for yet another hug.

"…help our people. Make strides with the _right_ cause," Ilia replied before stepping back. "If anyone can do it, it's you and Kali."

"And if anyone can keep my man happy along your journey, it's you. Take good care of Sun for me. He's a handful," Blake joked before exchanging a knowing smile with her boyfriend.

"You bet. I'm guessing Qrow and Kali are loading up?" Ilia asked.

Blake nodded, and shook out her hands. "Yes. We're taking a car to the airfields, and then using a cargo plane to get back to Menagerie. Apparently Ruby's team didn't take one, but they said they're heading for Patch."

"Patch," Yang repeated. "Smart. Mom probably used a portal to get out of Haven unseen, and her only option would be Dad. It's a good place to start looking… though refusing a plane is odd."

"Probably to avoid drawing attention?" Weiss offered. "They _are_ carrying a 'relic', after all. They likely don't want to be noticed until they have Raven on our side."

"Regardless… this is goodbye for a while," Blake reminded. She offered Sun one final kiss, before giving the others a small wave. Neptune joined her side, and the pair headed for the glass doors together.

Sun drew his hand over his eyes and sniffled a bit, as he took one final look at the pair. "Yeah. Not too long, though… we've got this. All of us."

The assembled teens nodded in agreement, before Neptune raised a finger.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" he said enthusiastically, before beginning to rub his hands together. "Alright… almost got it…"

Jaune let out an anxious sigh. "Almost got what?"

Neptune clapped, and pointed before sweeping his finger to point at each member of the squad heading for Atlas.

"Team Waxy! W-W-A-X-I! It dips into last names, but it's as good as you're gonna get!"

Sun stared blankly at Neptune for a moment, before he opened his mouth, and closed it again. Finally, he blew out a breath and shook his head. "I _hate_ you, and I'm glad you're leaving."

"…Team WWAXI it is," Ilia said with an impish grin.

Blake merely smirked, and then blew Sun a kiss. "Love you."

"You, too," Sun replied as he held his forehead. "See you around."

Blake and Neptune disappeared into the house to head for the front door, while Yang laughed lightly and pulled out her scroll, only to begin texting.

Weiss raised a brow, and then mimicked Sun's gesture as she brought a hand up to her forehead.

"Do I even _want_ to know?"

Yang shot Weiss a wide grin, before snapping her scroll closed. "…I just christened them Team Bacon. B-K-Q-N."

Weiss threw her hands up as she made her way back inside the house with a dramatic huff. "We're all going to die."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

This was _supposed_ to be a short chapter, and then the antics spiraled out of control. Who's ready for a callback from 50+ chapters ago? Tune in tomorrow for a little attention to a detail that probably seemed like a throwaway line.

 **-RD**


	61. Unburying the Past

Sun stared up at the ceiling from his position beneath the blankets and comforter, listening intently to the sound of the rain outside of the safe house. After spending the entire day wandering the streets of Mistral alone and taking in the sights, he'd done another meditation with Yang and turned in early, with the intent to focus on healing both his body and mind. A peal of thunder in the distance interrupted his thoughts, and he furrowed his brows.

A second, much louder crack of thunder echoed out within the room as the rainfall just outside intensified. Sun let out a sigh and sat up in bed, the sheets slipping from his chest into a messy pile within his lap as he stared at the clock. The face read _10:43_ , and Sun grimaced at the thought of how long he'd been silently laying alone, unable to sleep.

Suddenly, a frantic series of knocks rang out on the door of the bedroom. Sun hesitated before slipping out of bed, clad only in his boxers, and walking up to the door. He mentally reviewed who was still in the house before looking over to his cargo shorts slung over the back of a chair on the other side of the room, and let out a halfhearted shrug. Upon deciding that even Weiss would likely have no problem with seeing him mostly undressed, he pulled the door open and raised a brow at what awaited him.

Ilia stood alone in the darkened hallway, with a heavy comforter wrapped around her body and over her head like a giant hood. She held the material tightly around herself in wide-eyed terror, and looked up to Sun while nearly hyperventilating.

"I'm staying with you."

Sun didn't get a chance to reply as Ilia rushed into the bedroom and nearly bowled him over as the comforter trailed behind her like a bridal train. He slowly shut the door and turned in confusion, before another crack of thunder sounded near the house. Ilia visibly cringed and tensed her shoulders, as Sun leaned back against the door.

"…oh, right. Now I get it."

Ilia's panicked expression momentarily turned into a dangerous glare, and she narrowed her eyes. "I _told_ you I don't do thunder."

Sun merely smirked, and offered a small chuckle. "Yeah, I guess you did. That seems like ages ago."

Ilia paused, and then shuffled forward along the floor to crash into Sun's embrace. He gave her a tight squeeze, and nodded toward the bed.

"C'mon. I can't sleep anyway."

"I mean, it's _loud_ , even if it doesn't freak you out," Ilia replied as she waddled toward the bed and flopped over onto the mattress. Sun fell onto his back beside her, and swished his tail against the floor as he kept his feet on the ground.

"It's not even that, honestly. I guess I'm just nervous about the upcoming mission. All we've got is tomorrow, and then we head out," Sun confessed.

"I know," Ilia mumbled from within her blanket cocoon. She twisted herself around to face Sun, and grimaced. "We'll be fine, as long as the storm stops by then. Otherwise, you may have to strap me down in the train."

"If you keep running around and trying to bowl me over, I just might. What can I do to help?" Sun asked.

"Just… talk to me. Keep me distracted," Ilia instructed as she wriggled her way up the bed and leaned her head against a pillow. Sun watched curiously, before sitting up and shuffling along the bed to lie down next to her.

"That, I can do. Why do you get so worked up by storms?" Sun tried.

"…don't know. I've just… always been scared, since I was little," Ilia said. "It's not like there's any trauma, or whatever. They're just the worst."

"Huh. I guess we all have things like that," Sun admitted as another, fainter thunderclap echoed out. Ilia visibly winced.

"Yeah? What's yours?"

Sun pondered the question, before pulling back the covers and slipping beneath them to stall for time. "Uh… I've got a few weird things that freak me out a little."

"Like what?" Ilia pressed as she scooted over into Sun's side, and turned to face the ceiling.

"Promise not to laugh? And… is your arm okay in there? That doesn't look comfortable," Sun pointed out.

"It's _fine_ ," Ilia griped. "And I promise. Or at least, I'll try not to. Probably."

Sun gave Ilia an unimpressed stare, before sighing gently. "…scissors. I hate the sound of scissors. The sheering, metal-on-metal sound that they make just… it's like I can feel it in my spine."

Ilia paused for a moment, and scrunched up her face. "Weird. But… not that weird, I guess? What about like, swords scraping against each other?"

"Nope. Just scissors," Sun replied. He made a show of yawning loudly, praying that the motion was convincing. "Let's talk about something else."

"…like what?" Ilia asked as she echoed his yawn.

"I dunno," Sun replied. "Just, anything, to keep your mind off the storm until we both fall asleep, I guess. Question for a question?"

"Sure," Ilia agreed. "Got one in mind?"

The rain outside seemed to lighten up a bit as Sun mulled it over, and finally gave Ilia a smirk. "How'd you choose your weapon?"

Ilia blinked in surprise. "Wow, that's… that's actually a really good one. I was expecting 'favorite food', or something stupid."

"Yeah, I make it a goal in life _not_ to be Neptune," Sun retorted.

"Fair enough. I actually used to do a lot of fishing with my dad, back when he was… you know, alive. I always thought that pulling back the pole and snapping it was kinda fun, and he would yell at me for it, but… it just seemed like it had a lot of impact when it would snap back. It was that, and the fact that I used to do ribbon dancing back at school, so I wanted to incorporate something flowy," Ilia finished.

"… _ribbon dancing?_ " Sun asked incredulously. "I figured you for the type that would rather die than dance in public. That seems way too feminine for you."

"I am _so_ feminine!" Ilia protested. Sun gave her a deadpan look, and she huffed from within her blankets. "Wait until you see me in a dress."

"All I've seen you in is your zipped-up onesie of _doom_ ," Sun joked as he reached a finger out to boop her nose. Ilia snarled in response.

"Hey! That onesie is functional and comfortable! Besides, I _just_ bought new clothes today… and at least I can be consistently counted on to _wear_ clothes!"

"Oh yeah?" Sun asked. "What did you get?"

"You'll just have to wait and see, asshat. Anyway, _my_ turn," Ilia informed. "What's up with you and not wearing shirts like a normal person?"

Sun sighed, and shook his head. "If you _really_ wanna know, it became a habit after I started working out at the orphanage. I thought that maybe showing off my muscles would make me more likely to get adopted… but it obviously didn't. It just kinda stuck, after that. It's stupid, I know, but it's not all about a 'nice breeze' or whatever. It's just my thing, now. Maybe like a reminder of where I came from."

"…oh," was all Ilia could think to say as her face fell a bit. The two became silent for a few minutes, before Sun cleared his throat, and spoke up.

"…uh, favorite food?"

"…cherries. If the mystical Gay Fairy descended from on high and used her magic powers to force you to sleep with a dude, who would it be?"

Sun merely stared at Ilia for a moment as his mind tried to catch up to her mouth. "I have… _so_ many questions about where that came from, how that would work, why you want to know, and several other things."

"Too bad it was my turn," Ilia said confidently. "Besides, it's a total softball- it'd be Neptune, wouldn't it?"

 _"No!"_ Sun replied immediately. "Absolutely not! I like the guy, but if it was like _that_ … no way. He wouldn't take it seriously, or he'd be super _into_ it, knowing him, and…"

"Wait, you would _want_ them to take it seriously?" Ilia asked through a peal of laughter.

"Oh, shut _up!_ " Sun said, annoyed. "I guess… I guess Ren, honestly. He wouldn't make it weird, his semblance could mask anything embarrassing, and there's _no_ way he'd talk about it after. Happy, now?"

Ilia grinned deviously. " _Very_. The thought of you and Ren cuddling up is _adorable."_

Sun blew out a breath, and rolled onto his back to resume staring up at the ceiling as he yawned once again. "You're speeding up in the race for 'the worst', and rapidly approaching Neptune. Alright, my turn. What if the mystical _Straight Fairy_ flourished their wand at you, and you had to pick out a guy?"

Ilia was silent for just long enough to cause Sun to become concerned. He rolled back onto his side to look her over, only to find her normally brown face a bright, burning red.

"…Ilia?"

"Well, game's over. That sure was fun, wasn't it?" she insisted as she rolled away from him, only to almost fall off the bed and roll right back.

"Seriously? You put me through that, and now you're going to just dodge the qu-"

" _You_ , Sun! It's you! Are you happy, now?" Ilia asked with a flustered huff. "What the hell else did you think I would say? You should've known better than to ask!"

Sun's eyes widened as he connected the dots, only for his brain to shut down immediately afterward.

"I… wh-… _me?_ "

"Yes, _you_ , you dumbass. You're the _only_ guy I would trust enough, if those were the circumstances. I'm not saying I _want_ to, I'm just saying that if w-"

"Yeah," Sun interrupted as his cheeks tinted pink. "Yeah, no, I get it. I guess I just… wasn't thinking. Um, thanks? I guess?"

" _Anyway_ , I think the storm stopped," Ilia replied as she leaned to sit up and began wriggling out of her blankets. After what ended up being a long struggle and getting a bit of assistance from Sun, she sat in a pool of fabric wearing a nightie that struck Sun as familiar, for some reason. "I'm gonna head back to my room."

"Of course," Sun said as he tried to keep his eyes off of her. "If it starts up again, you're always welcome. I'll probably still be awake, especially after _that_."

"…let's literally never bring it up again. Or play that game again," Ilia offered.

"Yep. Agreed," Sun replied with a firm nod.

Ilia gave him a small wave before slipping off the bed, and heading for the door with her comforter balled in her hands and dragging slightly behind her. "Still, that was… nice. Thanks, Sun."

"Anytime, little sis. See you in the morning."

Ilia nodded, and disappeared into the hallway as Sun fell backward into his pillow. Once again, he returned to staring up at the ceiling, and spent several hours awake before finally drifting off.

* * *

"So," Ilia began as she continued pushing aside shirts hung upon the spinning rack. "How's your side?"

Weiss paused her own investigation of the circular clothing rack to raise a brow at Ilia through a gap between shirts. "It… still aches, every now and then, and there's going to be a scar, but I suppose it's fine. How is your arm feeling?"

"It's been better, but I can feel it healing. It's weird. Jaune is amazing, though," Ilia offered.

"He is," Weiss agreed as she went back to flicking through shirts. "He… had a crush on me, you know."

It was Ilia's turn to raise a brow as she rejoined Weiss on the other side of the rack, with a few shirts tucked under her good arm. " _Had?_ "

Weiss gave Ilia a sidelong look and displeased expression as she paused her efforts to sort clothing once again. Ilia looked away, and cleared her throat.

"…sorry. We don't have to go there, if it's… awkward."

"No, not awkward," Weiss replied before selecting a seemingly random black shirt plastered with a flaming skull upon the front. "At least, not in the way you might think. Is this 'out there' enough for me to work as part of a disguise, in a pinch?"

Ilia scrutinized the shirt with a critical eye, and nodded. "I mean, it's something I would wear unironically, so, yes."

"Fair enough," Weiss said as she led Ilia toward the counter. "As far as Jaune… to make a very, _very_ long story short, he made several passes at me at Beacon, for more or less the entirety of our time there. I didn't reciprocate, partially because I just wasn't interested, and partially because… well, his teammate, Pyrrha, was head over heels for him, and he just couldn't see it. I liked Pyrrha, and I… wrote him off entirely, so as not to step on her toes."

Ilia shifted uncomfortably as Weiss finished paying and took her bagged shirt, before placing her own purchases upon the counter and offering the attendant her card.

"…the way you said 'liked' makes me think…"

"…she… didn't make it out of Beacon," Weiss finished for her. "Jaune only realized how she felt shortly before that, and her loss devastated him. He hasn't really been the same since. I've tried to be of comfort, but sometimes, I almost feel like he resents me for leaving him… 'open', if you understand my meaning."

Ilia retrieved her bag as well and slipped her card back into her wallet, before stuffing the set into the back of her black jeans. "Like… if the two of you had been dating, he wouldn't have felt so strongly about Pyrrha, after what happened?"

Weiss' mouth twisted into a frown, before becoming a thin line as she started to walk out of the clothing store. The duo began to walk in time, and made their way back onto the main road.

"I know, it's horrible to assume something like that, but the way he looks at me sometimes… I can't help but wonder if that's what's going through his mind."

"Well… have you asked?" Ilia questioned.

"Oh, we've only been back together for a little over a week, at this point, and things have been rather busy. Besides… I wouldn't dare," Weiss confessed. "He seems too close to the edge to experiment with even a light push."

Ilia paused for a moment not far from a metal food cart with a tiny green and white umbrella speared through the center of it, warping the smoke that billowed from the grill beneath. She sniffed the air and closed her eyes as Weiss came to a stop just ahead, and turned to face her again.

"…I suppose it's been a while, since breakfast…"

"Yeah it has," Ilia agreed. "And as for Jaune… just remember, you don't _owe_ anyone your affection. That's a lesson I had to learn from the other side… and I'm still struggling with it, a little."

Weiss took her scroll out of a pocket, and began to text as she followed Ilia to the cart. "From the other side? Meaning, you're the one with the crush?"

Ilia looked over the menu posted on the front of the grill, before ordering a hot sandwich and handing over some lien. "Yeah. I… have a thing for Blake, that's been there since we were just kids. I'm well aware that she's more off limits now than ever before, and I've accepted that just because I love Sun just as much. But… you know. Thoughts."

Weiss eyed up the menu, before deciding to follow suit and order just as Ilia had before her. "Yang's going to meet us here. And… 'thoughts'? About how things could have been?"

"Well, yeah, sometimes that, sometimes just horny thoughts. You know how it is," Ilia commented as she tugged at the bottom of her deep blue sleeveless tee. Weiss merely stared at her in disbelief, and kept her voice incredibly flat.

"…no. No, I don't, and I _really_ don't understand how all of you are so perpetually sex-obsessed, and so _open_ about it."

Ilia merely shrugged as she reached over the cart to accept the tinfoil wrapped sandwich, while Weiss did the same. "It's just in my genes."

"Yes, I suppose it is," Weiss commented as she began to explore the area in search of a bench.

Ilia nodded toward an unoccupied bench at the edge of a nearby park, and headed over to sit upon the polished wood. "…speaking of genes, before Yang gets here… is there any… bad blood, between us?"

Weiss sat down next to Ilia, and slowly began to unwrap her sandwich as she gave the other girl a curious look. "…because of you being a faunus?"

"…because of me being _White Fang_ ," Ilia corrected. "Sun told me about how you two talked through the whole faunus thing, and if he's accepting of you, I will be, too. But… the Fang goes a bit beyond that. I think we're both well aware."

Weiss heaved a massive sigh, and folded her hands in her lap while balancing her sandwich upon her thighs. "Ilia… I was honestly planning to ignore that entirely, because I don't know how to feel. I had family friends on the train that Adam raided, not too long ago. People I knew _died_ because of his actions, and their only crime was working for my family, to try to get by. But… I also know that because of my family, countless faunus have died, or gotten sick, or…" Weiss trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

Ilia hesitated, before slowly offering an open hand. Weiss took it, but kept her eyes upon the ground.

"…my parents died in a mine collapse, while working for your family. That's what spurred me to join up, when I came of age. I blamed the entire Schnee bloodline, and so does Adam, for _his_ family. The difference between us is that I'm willing to see the individuals among your family, because Sun opened my eyes. Adam sees you as a collective, and the root of all evil. Unfortunately, his tongue is silver enough that it hypnotized me for longer than I'd care to admit. Now, though… I regret _everything_."

Weiss gave Ilia's hand a light squeeze, and shook her head. "Believe me, if I could wave a wand and have any other last name, I would. I wasn't even _aware_ of a lot of what's been going on within my family until very recently. It's no excuse, but… I wanted to believe that it wasn't true, and we weren't that bad. I can see now that we're _worse_."

"Well… _you_ seem okay to me," Ilia reassured. "I just hope you feel the same way. Given that we're on the same side, and headed to Atlas, I wanted to get this out of the way."

"We can't," Weiss replied quickly. "This isn't something we can just brush aside, and pretend that there's no history from this point forward. I'm more than willing to work with you, and even be a friend, if you'll continue to have me, but… this doesn't end here. It _can't_ end here, without being a sign of disrespect, especially not with where we're going. Here comes Yang," Weiss pointed out as she tilted her chin slightly forward.

"…well, at least we're making progress," Ilia commented as the tall blonde approached.

"'sup?" Yang asked casually as she held up her mechanical arm. She fanned the fingers out to splay five small slips of paper out to catch the sunlight. "I got our tickets. We leave at 10:00pm tonight. That way, we can sleep on the train, and we'll be in Argus by dawn."

"Smart," Weiss remarked. "Well… assuming the seats are well-cushioned."

"Suck it up, princess," Yang retorted as she sat down beside the girls. She snatched a pepper from the top of Weiss' sandwich, only for the smaller girl to smack at her hand. "How have you two been?"

"Just killing time, and getting Weiss some clothes that won't draw suspicion while we're in Lower Atlas. Mission successful, so far," Ilia replied.

"Cool. We should probably try to finish that off, and then head back home to the boys. I hope they're alright," Yang said as she ran her natural hand through her long tangle of hair.

"I'm sure they're just fine," Weiss insisted as she finally took a bite of her food. "Besides, it's nice to just hang out with the girls, for once."

"You've got that right. Sun practically leaves a gooey trail of testosterone behind him when he walks. He's like a snail with sexy abs," Yang joked.

Ilia gave Yang a curious look, while in mid-bite.

"…I don't think snails can _ever_ be sexy," she replied through a mouth full of food.

"I mean, the shell's got curves. I'd screw a snail faunus," Yang mused with a smirk.

" _Always_. Every single conversation, with you two!" Weiss complained, only to earn a snort from Ilia. "What next, a discussion about how one of you is attracted to trains, and how you can't wait to just… _nestle_ into your booth?"

Yang paused, before leaning around Weiss to catch Ilia's eye. "You think that's a thing? A train-o-phile?"

"…it's sex-related. Of _course_ it's a thing," Ilia replied.

"Eating my sandwich, ignoring the both of you. Not thinking about trains anymore, or sex, or anything sex-train related," Weiss sang as she kept her eyes dead ahead.

Yang kept her gaze locked on Weiss, and made a slow, deliberate show of leaning in to the side of her head. With a breathy whisper, she spoke directly into her friend's ear.

"…then why are you going _chew chew?_ "

Ilia burst into a fit of laughter as she coughed into her hand, while Weiss took a deep breath and tried her hardest to seem upset.

"I thought we were _done_ with weapons-grade puns, Yang. That was one of the worst I've ever heard."

"Nope. Nailed it," Yang said confidently as she leaned back and laced her hands behind her head while crossing her legs.

"And _you!_ " Weiss accused as she pointed the remains of her sandwich at Ilia. "Don't encourage her! Ruby was bad enough!"

"Sorry, Weiss," Ilia apologized as she shook her head and rolled her empty tinfoil into a tight ball. "I'll try not to get us off… _track_."

It was Yang's turn to snort as Weiss stood, and began to stomp back in the direction of the safe house. Yang initiated a high five, and Ilia happily accepted it as they leaned in to speak quietly amongst themselves while they began to follow Weiss at a distance.

" _Nice_. We've gotta keep this going, until she snaps. Get something with a caboose in there."

"On it," Ilia replied. "We'll push a bit, then let it rest until we get _on_ the train. At that point, we double down, and Sun will jump in. I bet we can annoy her _and_ Jaune, for the entire ride."

"I like the way you think," Yang replied with a smirk as she reached into a coat pocket and withdrew a pair of sunglasses. "Also, we're _not_ letting the fact that she just said 'sex-train' go, are we?"

"Oh, _absolutely_ not," Ilia reassured. "I'm saving that ammo for later."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I'm glad that the character interaction focused chapters are working for people, as with this many characters all in the running, there _needs_ to be some basis of bonding between the teams. BQKN and whatever Ruby's team ends up being will be covered in Volume 7, which I'm anticipating will be 15-20 chapters on its own. As of halfway through the next chapter, _What You Stole_ will enter its endgame for Volume 6, meaning things are about to ramp _way_ the hell up in terms of 'things happening'. We're closing in on the finale, and some pretty significant events.

Also, believe it or not, "Team Waxy" and "Team Bacon" weren't planned as names at all. I got to the end of the last chapter, realized that Neptune _would_ give them some stupid name, and spent about 20 minutes moving names around in a spreadsheet to figure those two out. It was actually a pretty huge pain to get Waxy, but Bacon came almost immediately afterward.

 **-RD**


	62. Taking Back Control

Sun watched carefully as he continued to pour a thin trail of orange liquid from the paper carton, and held his breath as the viscous beverage reached the top of the glass. He tilted the container back upward slightly as he leaned forward and sucked on the rim of the glass to reduce the level of the liquid, before pouring what little remained in the carton into the glass. With the container empty and his glass filled to the brim, he used his tail to toss the drained carton in the trash while picking up his drink with a steady hand. Finally, he brought the cup to his lips and drank deeply, before letting out a small noise of contentment.

" _Perfect_."

Finally satisfied with his precariously filled drink, Sun made his way out of the kitchen and back into the living room, only to pause as he looked out through the sliding glass doors. Jaune stood alone in the back yard, swinging his sword viciously as he held his shield up in a rigid stance. He threw the shield outward in a heavy bash, before going for a straight thrust with a yell audible even within the living room. Sun sipped his orange juice slowly as he watched Jaune walk backward and restart his entire routine, while taking note of the fact the other boy seemed to be mouthing some sort of mantra as he attacked and blocked invisible opponents.

Slowly, Sun approached the door and slid it back, while continuing to drain his glass. He took care to knock his spare hand against the doorframe to make a bit of noise, and the effort was just loud enough to draw Jaune's attention in mid swing. Crocea Mors whipped to the side at the end of Jaune's blow as he turned to face Sun, breathless and sweaty.

"Oh… hi…"

"Hey, man. You been out here a while? Wanna order a pizza, or something?" Sun offered.

Jaune merely stared at Sun, his chest heaving from the effort of his training exercise. The silent exchange lasted long enough for Sun to shift uncomfortably and lean against the doorframe. Jaune finally shook his head, and planted the tip of his sword into the ground before clasping both hands atop the hilt and leaning over the blade.

"Oh, no, no I'm good. Thanks, though. Uh, maybe later."

Sun raised a brow as he finished his glass, and briefly dipped back inside to set it on the coffee table. As he returned to the door and passed through it, he tilted his head and folded his arms across his chest.

"Have you eaten anything today? You look kinda pale."

Jaune's lip twitched, and he shook his head. "No. I'm not hungry. I'm good, though."

Sun let out an annoyed breath as he moved closer, and looked down to the shield strapped to Jaune's arm. The gilded metal band running across the top caught his eye, and he looked from the new addition up to Jaune's face with an uneasy frown.

"That's… her circlet, isn't it? The banding on your shield."

Jaune merely closed his eyes in response, and pushed his sword deeper into the ground. Suddenly, he stood up, and slipped the shield off his arm to rest it upon the picnic table, while facing away from Sun.

"…it felt like the right thing to do. It's my reason to keep going. For her."

"Yeah," Sun replied. He stared at Jaune's back for a moment, before he turned toward the doors and began to walk. "Sorry. I'll… leave you be."

"…I had no idea how much she meant to me, until she was gone."

Sun paused, and looked over his shoulder before turning to fully face Jaune once again. The other boy still had his back to Sun as he continued to speak, his voice growing shaky.

"I-I mean, I _knew_ she was a great friend, and I cared about her, long before then. We talked a lot, and she helped me, _so_ much, but I never… the pieces never came together, until it was too late. Now, looking back, it seems so obvious how badly I needed her, and how happy she was when I was around. And how when I wasn't, she just… it was different. Nora tried telling me, a-"

" _Hey,_ " Sun interrupted after closing the distance. He put his hand atop Jaune's as it rested upon the wooden table, and Sun leaned sideways to get a good look at his friend's face. Tears streaked down his cheeks in light trails, and Jaune's eyes were still closed. "I get it. I really do, probably more than you think."

"How?" Jaune demanded as he turned to look at Sun with a furious glare. "How could you _possibly_ understand what it's like, to feel like you failed someone who changed your life in ways you still don't even fully understand?"

Silently, Sun circled the table to stand opposite of Jaune. He detached Ghira's pauldron from his shoulder and laid it down next to Jaune's shield, before looking back up to the human huntsman's eyes.

"This… belonged to Blake's dad, Ghira. I was an orphan, Jaune, and when I met Blake's family, out in Menagerie… I just kinda _knew_ that I needed to become a part of it. Ghira was the leader of the village, and he had everything mostly under control, before we showed up. Things eventually escalated to the point where Blake's home was under direct threat, and… Ghira kept saying that the four of us should stick together, for safety. He suggested that we all start wearing armor. We… did neither."

Jaune lowered his gaze down to the pauldron, and sighed as his shoulders drooped. "He was looking out for you…"

"…and we split up, against his wishes. By the time we got back to the mansion, the place was in flames, and by the time I found him, Adam had already run him through. We had a bond that I can't even explain. It started out shaky and maybe even hostile, but over my time in Menagerie, we got close. _Really_ close. Close enough that he started calling me his son. Even if things would have ended the same way had we stuck together, I feel like it's my fault," Sun confessed. "This belt is his, too."

Jaune sniffed, and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie. "A-and he was the first person who gave you that feeling? The feeling like you _belong?_ "

Sun rubbed at the side of his face, and lowered his voice. "Yeah. And when I feel like it's all too much… he and Blake keep me going. So… I get it."

Jaune's chest heaved again, before he made a sudden move to walk around the head of the table. Without warning, he threw his arms around Sun and buried his face into the faunus' shoulder, before unleashing a torrent of ugly tears. Sun kept his arms slightly splayed as he tried to catch up to the shock of the sobbing boy, before gently wrapping them around Jaune's breastplate and looking down at the grass over his shoulder.

"Hey, let it out. I'm not judging you."

Jaune continued to sob as his grip grew tighter, and Sun hissed as he felt Jaune's arm press against his scarred side. His heart skipped a beat as he looked up and saw Ilia, Weiss, and Yang enter the living room through the glass door, and he frantically waved an arm behind Jaune's back to get their attention. Sun silently mouthed ' _NO'_ repeatedly, and the trio rapidly exited the room to disappear farther into the house as Jaune finally began to speak once again.

"I can't talk to Ren and Nora. I just _can't_ ," Jaune admitted with another sniff. "They have every right to blame me. We should've gone up that tower as a _team_ , and I never should have separated or let her into that chamber, an-"

"Jaune, it _happened_ ," Sun interrupted as he tightened his own grip. "No leader can make all of the right calls, and they don't blame you. They're probably _worried_ about you."

"And how do you know?" Jaune demanded as he finally pulled back, his face red and hair matted with sweat. "What makes you think you can tell that they're not silently thinking that I screwed it all up, and that I should've been able to prevent Pyrrha's death?"

"Because that's how Blake feels about me," Sun countered. "It's her _dad_ , and yet, she's more worried about me than herself, and spends a lot of time and energy making sure that _I'm_ okay. That's what love is, Jaune. Between friends, or in a relationship, or among family… it doesn't matter. It's obvious that Ren and Nora love you like family, and they're probably scared to approach you because you'll insist that they don't understand and shut them out. Maybe they don't get it, but _I_ do. If that means you need my shoulder, then… whatever. I'm here for you, but you need to _let_ them be here for you, too, when they get back."

Jaune's features softened ever so slightly as his flesh began to return to its normal color. "What about the others? What about how bad it's going to look when I just ignore them, and need you? I'm… I'm _not_ okay, Sun. When I saw Cinder at Haven, I completely lost control. I tried to take her one-on-one, and I would've died, if things hadn't gone exactly the way they did. And I think I…" Jaune trailed off, only to back away from Sun and sit down on the edge of the table.

"…you were so angry, that you just didn't even care about the odds?" Sun tried.

"…yeah. Yeah, let's go with that," Jaune agreed, without looking at Sun.

"You're not the only one. I've been having… 'episodes', too. Irrational, dangerous bouts of anger. Yang's been helping me, and so far, it's been better, but I don't know how I'll react the next time I see Adam, or when things get stressful. I could try to be your 'Yang', if you want? Is this helping at all, right now?" Sun asked.

"…this is the most I've spoken to anyone in one conversation since we set out from Patch," Jaune admitted as he put his head in his hands. "The way I feel about all of this isn't just going to go away, but… yes, it's helping. At least I know someone else has an idea of what I'm going through."

"Then we can keep doing this, in private, until Ren and Nora get back to us," Sun offered. "I'll keep checking in with Yang, and you keep checking in with me. Okay?"

Jaune took a long time to reply, and eventually nodded his head as he clenched his fingers through his hair.

"…okay."

"Why don't you head inside and take a shower? I'm ordering that pizza, and you're eating some of it. Period," Sun instructed as he swiped Ghira's pauldron from atop the table and reattached it to the fabric upon his shoulder.

"…yeah. Thanks, Sun," Jaune replied as he stood. "You're a life saver… and I'm glad that you're the one leading us. I'm not ready."

"I'll do my best," Sun said as Jaune took off toward the glass doors, while collapsing his shield and sheathing his sword within it. A subtle vibration pulsed through Sun's pocket, and he reached down to pull out his scroll. Weiss' face appeared in a box on the screen, along with a simple message.

 _What can I do?_

Sun shook his head, and moved to reply.

 _Nothing. He's not okay, but I'll try to get him there. It's going to take time, and it has to be me. I've got experience with this._

The reply came almost immediately, and Sun allowed himself a wry smirk.

 _Okay. You're a saint. We'll talk later._

Sun snapped his scroll closed and pocketed it, before heading back inside.

"And with sainthood comes suffering…"

* * *

Sun jolted awake and blinked rapidly as he tried to take in his surroundings. The darkened train car continued to rattle along the tracks, and Sun let out a groan as he stretched his arms up and over his head. Ilia shifted slightly and mashed her head against the side of his arm, before blinking awake herself and speaking in a groggy tone.

"What's going on? Is everything okay?"

"I think so, yeah. I just… I dunno. My body's weird, sometimes. Go back to sleep," Sun instructed as he reached down between his legs to feel for the backpack of emergency supplies. He flipped back the top cover to check on the relic within, before closing it once again to hide his charge.

"I'll try, but I can't make any promises," Ilia replied.

Sun grunted, and scratched at the back of his head. "In that case… watch our bag, for a sec? I gotta pee."

Ilia slumped over to lay upon her side as Sun pulled back the door and exited their compartment. She lazily put a hand down upon the backpack and closed her eyes, before mumbling something incoherent to herself. Sun offered Ilia a small nod, and then began to make his way down the aisle of the train car. He blinked rapidly as he passed by an uncovered window, and then backpedaled to look outside once again. Several black figures hung in the sky, and were growing larger in Sun's field of view. His eyes widened, and he raised his voice to address everyone in the car.

"Grimm! We've got grimm incoming!"

Several compartment doors opened at once as the people inside poked their heads out and began to mumble amongst themselves. A recognizable, shrill voice pierced through the rest, and Sun soon found Weiss at his side, Myrtenaster in hand and her unbound hair flowing messily behind her.

"Sun! We have to defend these people!"

"Obviously!" Sun retorted as he whirled to face Ilia, who had slung the backpack up over her good shoulder and emerged from their cabin. "I'm gonna need you to rally everyone to head toward the front of the train! Go to the dining car, and get under the tables! We'll handle corralling the grimm and keep them near the back!"

"But I can f-"

"You're not fighting atop a speeding train with a broken arm!" Weiss commanded. "Go, and if you see Yang, send her our way!"

" _Fine!_ " Ilia whined, as she turned and began to issue commands to the civilians on board.

"Okay! Where's Jaune?" Sun asked, as he turned back to look down the aisle. The blonde boy slipped past several panicking businessmen, while keeping his sword and shield held toward the ceiling as he made his way closer to Sun and Weiss.

" _Here!_ I'm up, I'm up! Let's get to the roof!"

"Alright, team! Let's do this!" Sun encouraged as he ran toward the end of the car. He pushed on through to the outer coupling and turned immediately, before grasping the ladder and beginning to climb for the roof.

" _Sun!_ " Weiss yelled while unstrapping her heels and kicking them into a nearby compartment. Sun reached the metal roof of the car, and leaned back over to look down at Weiss as the train began to lean into a gentle curve around the nearby mountainside. "It's… it's really hard to see!"

Sun grit his teeth and stood as he whirled his staff and dropped into a ready stance. "It's not as bad once you're up here! The moon's out, and we'll have to make do! I can see, and direct you two!"

Weiss emerged atop the roof and stood shakily as she drew her rapier once again. Suddenly, she made a frustrated noise and clenched her jaw as she stepped several times in place. Her feet were bare against the freezing metal, and she summoned a glyph beneath herself to put space between her chilled flesh and the surface of the roof.

"Oh, this isn't good! We need to make this fight _quick!_ "

"Watch each other's backs!" Sun commanded as Jaune appeared on the roof beside him, and drew his sword. "Make sure you know your footing, and turtle up!"

An animalistic scream echoed in the night sky as a sphinx emerged from below Sun's line of sight and began to fly alongside the train. Weiss immediately called forth another glyph and unleashed a torrent of fireballs in its direction. The beast flittered out of the way with a quick midair turn and let out another scream as it made an attempt to fly up and over the train car. Sun followed up Weiss' efforts with a precise shotgun blast and connected with one of the beast's wings, only to send it careening down the mountainside.

"Nice one!" Jaune commented as he pumped his sword arm in the air.

"Don't get too comfortable, we've got incoming!" Sun ordered as two more sphinxes landed atop their car. "I can see just fine up here, so I'll take one! Jaune, amp Weiss and you two take the other!"

Weiss responded by expanding the glowing glyph beneath herself as Jaune moved closer to her and put his shield arm upon her shoulder. Massive fireballs began to rip through the night sky, and the sphinx closest to them let out another scream as it tried to shield itself with its wings.

Sun clasped his hands and leveled his staff between them as three glittering doppelgangers burst forth from his chest, lighting up the metallic roof of the train. Each of the clones sprinted forward and dived straight for the sphinx facing Sun before they began to batter it with blows, as a fourth figure approached from behind the beast. Yang let out a spirited yell as she came into view and slid beneath the creature's legs while firing off shotgun blasts for its belly. Upon arriving at the creature's head, Yang slid into a standing position and rocked its jaw with a vicious haymaker. Sun's clones pushed the beast sideways, and it tumbled off the train car and ricocheted down the side of the mountain in a limp heap before disappearing in a spray of black dust.

One final, massive ball of flames engulfed the other sphinx before it began to disintegrate, and Weiss kneeled. She began a summoning glyph as Jaune used his free hand to point to the skyline, and cried out in a worried tone.

" _Look!_ There's… there's at least a dozen, and a _manticore!_ "

"A _what!?_ " Sun yelled as the massive silhouette of an entirely different, larger grimm flew upward alongside the train. Several more grimm flew up immediately after it, and began to circle the team of huntsmen and huntresses as the train leveled out onto a straight bridge high above the valley below.

"Not good. _Definitely_ not good," Yang warned as she cocked her gauntlets. "We're gonna need to give it everything we've got!"

As if on cue, a panel between the four friends slid open upon the roof, and an automatic turret rose from within the train. The massive gun swiveled to aim at a nearby sphinx, and unleashed a hail of bullets to shred its wings and take it out of the sky.

"I'll take it! Divide and conquer! Don't let them swarm us!" Sun ordered as he ran for the back of the train. He leapt the gap between cars and tucked into a roll as two sphinxes followed him. Suddenly, he turned and threw out another clone who leapt upward and grabbed the sphinx's neck, before dragging it down and hurling it into the gap between train cars. The beast's neck broke upon impact, and it disintegrated into black particles.

A massive white knight appeared upon the rooftop alongside Weiss as she flourished her rapier upward and assumed a combat stance. The bulky spirit began to swing wildly, and cleaved a sphinx clean in two as the turret whirled and downed another grimm, only to send it falling down below the bridge. Yang turned and looked at the turret as it swiveled again and began to fire upon the manticore, before cupping her hands around her mouth and calling to the team.

"The turret has a camera on it! Hey, can you hear us!? Is someone controlling that thing!?"

The sound of static crackled throughout the rooftop as an unfamiliar, elderly voice came across a built-in speaker.

" _Of_ _ **course**_ _I can hear you! Now, stop distracting me, and get me a good shot at the manticore!"_

Jaune nodded and steeled himself as a sphinx careened downward and collided into his shield. The flailing beast scrabbled its claws against the surface of the metal, and Jaune bent his knees and shoved his shoulder against the back of the shield for support. He remained standing strong, and bashed the beast upon the skull with the hilt of Crocea Mors.

"Clear out the small ones, so we can focus on keeping the manticore still!"

Sun leaped back over the gap to rejoin his comrades, only to nod as he whirled his staff and pressed his back to Jaune's.

"Jaune knows what he's talking about! Everyone, focus fire!"

Weiss and Yang moved in and pressed their backs to the boys as they began to fire off shotgun shells and shards of ice. Another sphinx dropped from Weiss' frigid assault, and then another went down on account of the turret. Suddenly, the manticore swooped downward and collided with the side of the train car just behind the one that the team stood upon, and the whole train creaked and wobbled.

"It's trying to knock us off the bridge!" Jaune yelled.

"Amp me! Weiss, have your knight go for the wings!" Sun instructed as he slammed his hands together. Jaune put a hand on his shoulder immediately, and an entire squad of clones rushed forward, toward the manticore.

The beast pivoted in midair as its mouth began to glow, only for one of Sun's doubles to leap upward and grab the tail of the giant grimm. Another joined its brother's side and yanked downward, as more and more doppelgangers joined in to wrench the manticore out of the sky. Weiss' knight charged forward through the gathering of illusory faunus and swung its sword down through the beast's wing at the base. The grimm screamed in agony and lunged forward, knocking several clones off the roof of the train and sinking its teeth into the knight's torso as its wing evaporated beside it. Weiss' summoned protector fizzled into a white mist at the contact, and Yang ran forward while pumping rounds into the beast's face in response.

"Sun! Help me drag it!" Yang shouted as she reached the beast. All at once, the glittering faunus troupe began to pull the screaming grimm along the train car and toward the gap, where Yang met the manticore and punched it viciously in the face as it tried to bite her. "Fat chance! You're coming with me!"

Yang hooked an arm beneath the manticore's jaw and began to pull, while Sun ordered his clones to back her up. All together, they wrenched the giant grimm along the metallic roof as the voice within the turret crackled to life once again.

" _That's close enough! Out of the way!"_

Yang dived to the side as the barrels of the turret began to whine, and then a rain of bullets sprayed forth. The manticore took countless rounds to the face and rapidly began to dissolve from head to tail, until nothing of it remained. The few sphinxes following the train split off and retreated as the turret turned once again and fired off a few rounds, none of which found their marks.

" _And don't come back! This is_ _ **our**_ _train!"_

"Thanks… whoever you are…" Sun said breathlessly as he doubled over and leaned on his staff as he planted the weapon into the roof.

" _We'll meet soon enough. Get back inside, bef-"_

"Sun! There's another grimm!" Weiss yelled in disbelief as she pointed to a black object cutting through the night sky, several hundred feet in the distance. "It's following us!"

Sun stood straight and squinted his eyes as he caught sight of the object, only to blink in confusion. "Weiss, that's no grimm… that looks like… it almost looks like a _helicopter_ …?"

"A helicopter?" Jaune repeated. "Why would a helicopter be tailing our train?"

Yang shook her head, and put her hands on her hips. "I don't know, but I don't like it. Let's get back inside."

"Yeah, Sun agreed. Let's."

* * *

Weiss let out a heavy sigh as she entered the vacated train car, and immediately slipped into the nearest compartment to gather up her shoes. "My feet are _freezing!_ "

Jaune follow her inside and gave Weiss a concerned look as he rested a hand upon her shoulder. "I'll find Ilia, and grab a towel form the backpack. We'll get you warmed up."

Weiss nodded and gave Jaune a grateful smile as Sun and Yang entered the car, both still in the process of catching their breath.

"That… I'd rather not do that again," Sun confessed as he slumped into the seat across from Weiss. "But, good job, team. We saved a few lives tonight."

"More than a few," Yang said as she sat down next to Sun.

"And yet somehow, I don't think we're done for the night," Jaune commented as an odd, wooden sound echoed out from the other side of the train car.

"Ilia, dear, guard the door… and give me that backpack," a familiar voice demanded. Sun turned and looked through the door of the compartment to see an elderly woman approaching, their backpack in one hand and a cane topped with a decorated black skull in the other. "You kids are a skilled bunch, but you need to be more careful, and more prepared, _especially_ when you're protecting something as valuable as this!"

The four teens exchanged wary looks as Sun slipped out of the cabin and stood to face the newcomer.

"What do you mean?"

The woman looked up at Sun, and he raised a brow as he caught sight of her shifting mechanical eyewear. The slats around the glowing blue lights narrowed as she tossed him the backpack, and Sun caught it.

"Don't play dumb with me, boy! I can see through material like that, and I've been watching you all since you entered the train station! What you're transporting isn't something that can be taken lightly… and if I'm guessing right, you're taking it to Atlas. A good plan, given the assault on Haven Academy."

Sun tensed as Yang approached to stand beside him.

"And who exactly are you? Why do you know what the thing in our bag is?"

"…call me Maria," the woman replied. "As for the other question… it's a very, _very_ long story, and one that isn't safe to discuss right now, with people filtering back into the train cars. Just be thankful that I was on board, and still remember how to work these turrets. We'll talk when we're in Argus, and then… we'll find a way to get you, and _me_ , into Atlas."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Two more chapters to go, and then we're on hiatus. I'll be going into detail on the next story in the author's note of Chapter 64.

 **-RD**


	63. The Plan

Sun was the first out of the train, and shuffled out of the way and into a long overhead stretch accompanied by a noise of strain. Yang was next to follow, then Ilia, and then Jaune, before Weiss brought up the rear and helped guide Maria down the steps.

"Carefully… a small jump…"

"I can do it myself, you know!" the old woman barked as she hopped down from the last step and onto the concrete below. "I may be old enough to be your grandmother, but I haven't lost it all just yet!"

"Well _excuse_ me for trying to help!" Weiss complained as she folded her arms in a huff. "I just… wasn't sure how well you can see, through that… device."

Maria brought a fist up and knocked on the side of her goggles, only for the left lens to spin wildly. "Oh, not well at all. That's why I need to go to Atlas with you- I know someone capable of repairs, but I had no plan to get past the military blockade. Until _now_."

Yang dipped low into a leg stretch, and then bounced a few times. "If your plan is to follow _our_ plan, then there is no plan. Not yet, anyway."

"But we need a secure place _to_ plan," Ilia pointed out as more passengers began to disembark from the train. "Should we start looking for a hotel, or…?"

"Actually," Jaune interrupted, "I… think I can take care of that. Everyone, follow me."

Sun and Ilia exchanged looks as Jaune set out at a speedy pace without another word.

"…alright then, follow Jaune," Sun agreed as he moved to walk behind his friend. The others quickly moved to follow, and Maria picked up her pace to a surprising degree in order to catch up to Sun and tap her cane against his backpack.

"By the way, you all aren't _stealing_ that, are you?"

"What? No!" Sun said with wide eyes. "We wouldn't… we're trying to protect it."

"You can never be too sure," Maria said ominously as she slowed a little to walk beside Ilia. "And _you!_ I heard you mention the White Fang several times, while on board. You're not in league with them, are you?"

Ilia's face twisted into an anxious smile as she avoided Maria's eyes. "No, of course not. I mean, not anymore…"

Yang stepped between Ilia and Maria, and gave the older woman a serious look. " _Hey_. How about we save the interrogation for when we're somewhere safe? We all wanted to protect the train, and we all want to protect the _package_. Isn't that enough, for the next… however long this takes?"

"Five minutes," Jaune insisted as he turned his head slightly to address the rest of the crew. "We're almost there, I swear."

"And where is 'there', exactly?" Weiss questioned as her wedges echoed upon the sidewalk.

"…my sister, Saphron, lives here with her wife, Terra. We can _hopefully_ stay at their place for a bit, to plan," Jaune explained. "Terra is also apparently working for a tech company here in Argus, so she may be able to help us… manipulate things a bit, or at least provide information."

"Cool!" Sun exclaimed. "Then it's definitely good that we brought you along."

"And if it's tech… I can probably tinker with it enough to mask us," Ilia followed up. "Don't forget that all we need to do is find Cinnamon's boat, and figure out a way out of Argus without being seen."

Weiss shook her head, and cleared her throat. "Honestly… I think we can do better than that. I already have the beginnings of a plan, in my mind."

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves," Sun cautioned as Jaune turned a corner. "Let's get to the Arc house, and lay low for a bit before we go coming up with anything too crazy."

The crew continued on in silence until Jaune turned abruptly, and ascended a small staircase to a waiting door. He gave the wood a firm knock, before beginning to rock on his heels as the rest of the team assembled on the landing below.

"Come on… _please_ be home…"

Mere moments later, the door was pulled open, and a sleepy looking woman with dark hair, red glasses, and olive skin stood in the frame looking unimpressed.

"Who would come calling at this ho-… _Jaune?_ "

Jaune grinned sheepishly, and waved his armored hand. "Hey, Terra. Can my friends and I come in? We could use a secure location, right about now."

"Of course!"

Terra stepped forward and offered Jaune a quick hug, which the boy returned. Afterward, she stepped back into the house and stood to the side as the assembled team and Maria made their way into the home. The elderly woman looked up and around at the décor as she entered, and muttered something about the walls as another voice rang out from the upstairs level.

 _"Terra? Who is it?"_

"Jaune!" Terra called back. There was a brief silence as Sun closed the front door behind himself, and then the voice from upstairs replied.

" _Can you come finish Adrian's bath? I'll be right down!"_

Terra rolled her eyes and began to make her way up the steps as she pointed to the couch. "Make yourselves at home. Saph shouldn't take long."

"Hey, thank you!" Sun called out as Terra continued her trek to the second floor. She waved a dismissive hand, and he sucked in a breath as he grit his teeth. He pulled out his scroll and checked the time, only to shrink slightly as his shoulders tensed. "Hey guys, it's… not quite six in the morning."

The crew gave each other uneasy glances as a blonde woman descended the steps rapidly, her hands soaked and her expression a wide grin.

" _Jaune!_ "

"Hey, Saphr-oof!" Jaune said as his sister captured him in a tight hug. "Sorry to come calling so early, b-"

"Nonsense! And you brought friends!" Saphron pointed out as Yang took the last seat upon the couch. "I'll put on coffee, if you'd all like?"

"Actually, allow me. I insist, for your generosity in seeing us so early," Weiss offered with a smile as she stood and smoothed out her dress.

"If you say so. Be my guest," Saphron replied before looking back to Jaune. "What's going on? Why are you traveling with such a large team? Is something wrong? Do you need help?"

Jaune opened his mouth to reply, before rapidly growing overwhelmed. "I… we don't… it's a thing, you know…"

Sun shook his head, and rested one foot atop the opposite knee as he crossed his arms. "We could use some help, yeah. We're on a pretty dangerous mission from Professor Ozpin himself, and we need a place to hash out a plan."

Saphron moved away from Jaune and entered the living room with her brother in tow. "Well, you're all more than welcome to stay for as long as you need. Terra should be down in a few minutes, and then we can handle introductions and details."

"Before any of that," Yang began, "if we're going to be staying for a little bit after all… are you willing to tell us embarrassing stories about Jaune?"

" _Yang!_ " Jaune complained, only for Saphron to smirk evilly.

" _So_ many stories."

Weiss reentered the room, and stood up onto her toes before rocking back down onto her heels as she took a head count. "Coffee will be ready shortly."

"Count me out," came Terra's voice as she descended the stairs with a toddler in her arms. "Make it tea."

"Uh, I'm good for tea, too, if it's not too much trouble," Sun offered with a nervous grin. Weiss narrowed her eyes at him, before folding her arms.

"…tea it is. You could have _said_ that you didn't like it in the hospital, you know. I wouldn't have been offended," Weiss said pointedly.

Sun let out a small laugh, and scratched at the back of his head as Terra joined Saphron on the loveseat. "Yeah, well… I didn't want to come off as ungrateful. Anyway, we have more important things to discuss."

"Much more," Terra agreed as she let the small boy down onto the floor to begin crawling around the room. "What exactly is going on, and who are you people?"

Jaune cleared his throat, and stepped forward to stand at the side of the couch. "It's… a _really_ long story. This is Sun Wukong, Ilia Amitola, Yang Xiao Long, and Weiss Schnee is the one in the doorway to the kitchen. They're all friends from school, or friends of friends, who became friends. This here is Maria, and… we're not entirely sure who she is."

Maria nodded sagely, and snatched her cane upward as the toddler made a grab for the wood. " _No!_ Bad child! And who I am, we'll get to shortly."

Saphron and Terra exchanged suspicious looks, before the blonde leaned forward slightly and cupped her hands. "I'm Saphron Cotta-Arc, and this is my wife, Terra. Jaune is my little brother, and this _slightly_ littler one is Adrian, our son."

The boy known as Adrian made his way up to Sun, before rocking back to sit on his behind and stare up at the faunus. Sun blinked in confusion, before leaning forward slightly.

"…hey there, little guy. What's up?"

Adrian blinked in return, before reaching out a hand far faster than Sun could react and yanking on the faunus' tail as hard as he could.

" _Gah!_ Oh gods, no!"

" _Adrian!_ " Terra yelled as Ilia snorted and Yang began to snicker. "Let go of him, right now!"

Sun grabbed his own tail and yanked to try to dislodge the toddler, while squirming in agony. Adrian's grip wouldn't give way, and Saphron shot off the couch and picked up her son before smacking his hands and finally managing to pry the boy from Sun's appendage. Sun immediately curled his tail into his lap and began to sort out the fur, as Ilia turned a bright red and began to cough.

"I'm _so_ sorry, Sun!" Saphron apologized. "He's usually not like this!"

"It's fine, it's fine," Sun reassured as he sucked in a pained breath. "He's probably… just never seen a faunus before, or something?"

Terra quirked a brow, and looked over to her wife. "Maybe not, or at least, not this close. Either way, we'll keep him on _this_ side of the room," she stated as Weiss disappeared back into the kitchen while fighting back her own laughter. "Now that we're all much more awake, though, what's going on?"

Sun opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Maria as she began to pace. "I'll give you the quick version- this team of youngsters is trying to smuggle both themselves and the relic of knowledge into Atlas, before its grimm-luring effects become a problem. Their intent is to bring it to Atlas Academy for protection, and they could use a hand getting up to the floating city… or even the grounded one."

Total silence fell over the room, only to be interrupted by the sound of creaking leather as Yang's hands clenched into tight fists.

" _What_ did you just say? What 'grimm-luring effects'?"

Maria turned to face Yang, as her goggles dilated fully. "You don't know? Those things are like _magnets_ for grimm, young lady. The longer it's out in the open, the more chance that it'll lure something nasty."

Yang stood from the couch immediately and stepped toward a nearby door. "Does this lead outside?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"Um… yes, it leads to our garden," Saphron clarified.

" _Great_. I need a moment," Yang said before disappearing through the door. The rest of the assembled team remained silent as Weiss walked back into the room, carrying a tray of beverages. Her face was ghost white, and she stammered to speak as she passed out mugs of tea and coffee.

"How… do you know that, Maria?"

"Simple," Maria stated with a wave of her free hand. "I was one of Professor Ozpin's best students at Beacon Academy, back in the day, before I went off on my own to pursue a career as a solo huntress. He trusted me with secrets that few others knew, and sent me off to carry that thing to Haven as a personal favor. That's how I got my start, after graduation."

"…Jaune…" Sun began, as he set down his tea upon the coffee table, "I'll be right back. Fill them in on what's gone on up to this point, please?"

"Um, sure," Jaune offered as Sun made his way to the door leading to the garden. "Including… _her?_ "

" _Everything_ ," Sun clarified as he pulled open the door and stepped outside. He emerged into a darkened, fenced-off area teeming with fireflies and darkened trees, as well as a fuming blonde girl standing off in a far corner.

"…Yang?"

"Sun… you might want to go back inside, and just let me fume," Yang warned in a shaky voice.

"No. No, I definitely don't," Sun disagreed as he moved closer. "What I want is for you to talk to me, a-"

"He lied to us _again!_ " Yang snarled as she turned and threw an arm out to the side. "Don't even try to tell me it slipped his mind, or he didn't have time, or… that relic is a _fucking_ beacon for grimm, and we're supposed to just deal with that without knowing!?"

Sun shot a hand out and gripped Yang's arm, before closing the distance between them.

"Assuming Maria knows what she's talking about, _yes_ , apparently. Look, I'm not happy about it either, but I'm holding it in. Neither of us can afford to explode right now, when Jaune's sister and her wife are being so generous and have a _kid_ ," Sun explained. He transitioned his grip from Yang's forearm down to her hand, and clenched his fingers around hers firmly. "Let's keep each other in check, right now, and maybe we'll go for a walk to blow off steam later. Okay?"

Yang took two long, deep breaths in and out through her nose, before finally returning the firm grasp. " _Okay_. You just… Sun, you have no idea how tired I am of people who think they know better putting us in shitty situations. Ozpin is going to have _hell_ to pay when I see him again, and I won't let you talk me down from at least a verbal thrashing."

"I won't, but I _will_ tell you to keep it verbal. You've gotta remember that Ozpin isn't 'Ozpin' anymore- he's also Oscar, and Oscar's innocent in all of this… well, provided he isn't complicit in keeping Ozpin's secrets. I don't exactly know how that works," Sun admitted as he finally let his hand drop.

Yang turned again, and shook her head as her hair bounced wildly behind her. "This is all so _fucked!_ Why is it us, Sun? Why does it _have_ to be us, that get forced to deal with all of this bullshit? Why can't they just come clean and tell us what we need to know, so we're not flying blind?"

Sun paused, and approached Yang once again to loop an arm around her shoulder. "I don't know, Yang. I really don't… but I do know that we have no choice but to keep moving forward. I also don't think we should stay _at all_ if we can help it, if this relic really is drawing grimm to us. It's not fair to put Saphron's family in danger like that."

"I'm with you," Yang stated before letting out a hollow, mirthless laugh. "Hope you got some good sleep on the train, Sun, because it sounds to me like we're going straight for it as soon as a plan's decided."

"You know I didn't," Sun said with exasperation. "I don't think any of us did."

"Oh, I'm well aware," Yang replied. "Just another day living the dream. Come on, let's get back inside before someone comes and asks if we're alright."

" _Are_ you alright?" Sun inquired as he dropped his arm back to his side. Yang took one final deep breath, and offered him a nod.

"As alright as I'm gonna get. Thanks, Sun, for giving a shit. We'll keep each other in check."

"Damn right we will," Sun agreed as he led the way back to the door. The two stepped inside together, as Jaune was busy gesturing with his hands while animatedly explaining events.

"…so then, Sun came up with this plan, where we split into three teams, and I guess the only thing you need to know there is that _this_ is the team I'm on. We've gotta get this relic into Atlas. We're thinking about going into the lower city on a boat that's waiting for us, supposedly, and then finding a way into the upper city."

Terra crossed her legs, and used a hand to adjust her glasses. "Getting into Upper Atlas through any sort of aircraft is out of the question, period… except for maybe a private vehicle carrying _you_ ," she added as she pointed at Weiss.

"That's part of why I came, actually. I think it's best for me to go separately, and be waiting there in Upper Atlas to get everyone up from the grounded city. I can find a way," Weiss said before sipping her coffee.

"I'll go with you," Maria said with confidence.

"I… _how?_ " Weiss asked. "I doubt they'll let me bring you along, knowing that there's a blockade in place."

"Simple, dear. I'll be in your carry-on luggage. I'm sure we can find a suitcase I'll fit inside of," Maria clarified.

The team merely stared at her, before Sun shook his head.

"Okay, that's a little weird, but… fine, let's pretend it'll work, for the moment. We still need a way to get out of Argus on a boat, unseen. I doubt the powers that be would like an unverified vessel traveling toward the big city."

"They won't… but I can help you buy enough time to get out of range," Terra offered. "I have detailed plans to the radio tower on the outside edge of town, and I can explain to you how to disable it without doing any permanent or suspicious damage. It'd buy you about half an hour to get clear of Argus waters. Plenty of time, if you don't drag your feet."

"I'm good with tech," Ilia said as she set down her coffee. "Explain it to me, and I'll take care of it. I also know where the boat's supposed to be."

Sun nodded, and returned to his place upon the couch. "Alright, then how about this- we stuff Maria into a suitcase, because at this point, why the hell not, and send her with Weiss, who has suddenly come to her senses and wants to go back home, apropos of nothing. Ilia and I will head for the radio tower and temporarily disable it, and any guards, while Jaune and Yang secure the boat and bring it around to us. Then, the four of us get into Lower Atlas and find a way to contact Weiss."

"I can provide comms equipment," Terra offered. "But if you get caught, it didn't come from me."

"Understood," Sun agreed. "Then… I think we've got something with just enough detail to wing it. We need to leave as soon as possible, to avoid drawing any grimm to Argus."

Saphron frowned slightly, and bounced Adrian upon her knee. "Then I guess you won't be staying, after all. I understand…"

Jaune sighed, and shook his head. "It's for the best. We'll come back, though, once everything is sorted out."

Saphron offered her little brother a sad smile. "I hope that you do."

Terra stood and cracked her knuckles, before shaking out her hands. "Give me half an hour. I'll get you what you need… and a suitcase big enough to hold Maria. That plan is so stupid, it just might work."

"Oh, don't worry about me," Maria said as she waved a hand. "It won't be the first time I've done this."

Sun stared blankly at Maria, before shaking his head and standing. "Alright, WWAXI. Let's make this happen."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Two questions from reviews:

1) How did you get into RWBY?

Last October, I was listening to random music on Youtube while playing... something that I can't specifically remember. Red Like Roses parts 1 and 2 were uploaded as a single video, and I had no idea what it was. I decided to throw it on, descended into the rabbit hole of RWBY music, and decided to check out the show. Binged everything in two days, and the rest is history.

2) When did you start shipping and/or taking Blake and Sun seriously?

I was all-in after Volume 4. It just seemed so natural and obvious after all of their interactions, and then... Sun was basically ejected from the show out of convenience. His entire reason for leaving seemed like a total cop-out, and I was seriously annoyed that such a good character was tossed aside because there were just too many people. Then, Blake and Yang started getting closer out of nowhere despite having clearly unresolved issues, both characters started going downhill because of it, and I learned the bonus that Bumbleby is extremely pushed by the voice actresses, which made the entire thing feel even more shoehorned and nonsensical. I ended up being annoyed enough by it to write this story. Now, for a little heresy- Eclipse/BlackSun is easily my preferred path for Blake... but Blake is actually second place in terms of who I'd put Sun with. For the answer to who I'd pair him with, you'll have to wait for the next story...

One more chapter to go, and it's _massive._ Time to see who has been paying close attention, especially to chapter titles. I wonder if any of you can guess what the finale before the hiatus might be called...?

 **-RD**


	64. From Shadows

"There it is," Sun commented as he and Ilia crested the hill. "Doesn't look like much, but I guess it's super important for defenses around Argus."

Ilia looked up at the radio tower and narrowed her eyes. "It may be simple, but it's still going to be a hell of a climb with one arm. I've got half a mind to take this thing off, and try t-"

"Don't," Sun warned. "Climb slowly, and safely. Weiss is in the air already, and the other two won't move the boat until we give the go-ahead."

"Yeah, assuming they find the stupid thing," Ilia said as she pulled up a pair of binoculars. "I really hope Cinnamon pulled some strings and didn't… oh, _shit!_ "

"What? What's wrong? Is patrol heavier than Terra said?" Sun asked as his entire body tensed. Ilia passed him the binoculars, and he raised them to his eyes. After a moment of searching the tower and its upper scaffolds, Sun's veins turned to ice as he spotted a corpse laying upon one of the metal platforms halfway up the tower. He trained the binoculars upward, and found another waiting at the top, near the control box.

"Tell me you see it, too," Ilia pleaded as all color drained from her face. "Tell me I'm not going crazy."

"No, I see it," Sun confirmed as he lowered the lenses. "I just don't… I don't understand. Who could have gotten here first? And why hasn't an alert gone out?"

"Maybe it has?" Ilia offered. "The wounds look fresh, from here. Sun, we need to get up there, and see if they're alive. Maybe they know something."

Sun hesitated, before placing a heavy hand on Ilia's shoulder. "No. _I_ need to go up there. You're not climbing a radio tower and possibly fighting atop one with your arm in a sling. Go to the boat, and wait for my signal."

Ilia blinked, and emphatically shook her head. "Sun, no, you need me t-"

"Go to the _boat_ , Ilia!" Sun repeated, his tone far less friendly. "I want you safe, alright? I'll contact you when I'm at the top and in the clear, and you can guide me through… whatever needs doing. I'll handle it, but I'm _not_ risking you."

Ilia bit her lip, and pounded a heavy fist into Sun's chest. "Damn it, you asshole! _Fine!_ But if something's wrong, you get on the line _immediately!_ "

"I will!" Sun replied as he felt a familiar surge of anger in his chest. He took a deep, measured breath, and softened his tone slightly after Ilia recoiled in surprise. "I will. I just want you to be safe."

Ilia nodded slowly, and undid the tool belt around her waist, before offering it to Sun. "Okay. I trust you, big bro."

Sun accepted the belt, and slung it over one shoulder before beginning to head for the tower. "I won't let you down, little sis."

* * *

Weiss Schnee sat upon a cold, metallic bench in the main bay of a private Atlesian transport craft as it soared gently through the sky. She looked up toward the window across the plane to see only the open sea and blue sky, and let out a weary sigh. Slowly and carefully, she pulled her scroll from her dress, and navigated to her contacts to check on the signals of the rest of the team. Sun, Ilia, Yang, and Jaune's scrolls were all displaying two bars out of five, and Weiss' shoulders tensed at the sight.

"Something wrong, ma'am?" a nearby guard asked as he tilted his head at the former heiress.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" his partner inquired as a follow up.

"No, no, it's quite fine. Just… thinking of home," Weiss lied with a smile as she moved to put her scroll away. Suddenly, a change upon the screen caught her eye, and she brought it forward to look once again. Everyone on her contact list displayed no bars, and a large 'X' was flashing near the top of the screen.

"Hey! What's going on back there? We just lost radar, and command isn't coming through!" the pilot yelled from the cockpit. One of the guards turned to face the source of the voice, and made his way over to a small door before sliding it open.

"Nothing going on back here, sir! It must be external!"

Weiss immediately stood from her seat, and walked to catch up to the guard. "My scroll isn't picking anything up either, if that helps."

"Hey! Look out there!" the other guard said as he pointed toward the same window Weiss had looked out earlier. "There's a… a helicopter approaching, sir!"

* * *

Sun stood from his position kneeling over the corpse upon the platform halfway up the tower. His heart pounded in his chest as he surveyed the wounds, and thought about what horrible end the guard had met. Long, vicious gashes had torn through his body armor, looking almost like the claws of some massive animal, and his face was frozen in a silent scream as his head lolled just over the edge of the metallic walkway. Sun backed away slowly, before turning and beginning to climb the ladder that led to the upper terrace.

Suddenly, Sun's earpiece crackled with static, and Ilia's voice came over the line.

" _-un? Sun, do you copy?"_

"I copy," he replied as he quickly made his way up the ladder.

" _I made it to the boat. Yang and Jaune are here, and we're ready to move up the coast, on your signal. What's the status on the bodies?"_

"Dead. Definitely dead," Sun said with a full-body shiver. "I'm not at the top level yet, but the guy in the middle of the tower… someone, or some _thing_ really wanted him to stop patrolling. I've never seen armor shred like that."

 _"Shred? What are you thinking, like a flak grenade, or some kind of bladed weapon, or maybe someth-"_

Ilia's signal dropped out, and Sun paused in the middle of reaching for the next rung. He completed the motion, before bringing his other hand up to the side of his face and pressing two fingers against his earpiece.

"Ilia?" Sun paused, and licked his lips as only static came through the line. "Ilia, what happened?"

Again, he received nothing but an irritating crackle for his efforts. Sun shook his head and continued his climb, only to reach the top of the radio tower. Another mangled body awaited him, and the man was arguably in a worse state. The guard's head had been smashed into the side of the control box, and the metallic corner was stained with blood and brain matter. His back had been torn open and a puncture wound ripped through his torso, leaving little of the man's upper body intact.

" _Gods_ ," Sun exclaimed as he approached the corpse with apprehension. "What is going on? And why _now?_ "

Sun took out his scroll and moved to Ilia's portrait, only to find no signal available. He continued to check his contacts, and came up with much the same result, before pocketing the device entirely with a sigh. A blinking light upon the control box caught his attention, and he moved closer to inspect it. Despite his limited knowledge, something about the configuration immediately struck him as _wrong_.

Atop the box was some other sort of large device, wired into the control panel of the box itself. Several waveforms were displayed onscreen and appeared synced to one, thicker wave. Two knobs rested next to the screen, and both had lights atop them that were blinking a bright red.

"What the hell…?" Sun asked as he took out his scroll once again, and snapped a picture. He moved to the railing around the platform and brought his binoculars up to look out over the landscape in search of anyone who might still be in the area.

* * *

"Why is it getting closer?" Weiss questioned as she leaned up against the circular glass. "What's going on?"

"We don't know, ma'am. It may even be more than one," the guard informed as he cocked his massive rifle. The other guard took a similar firearm off the wall, and began a basic check of the weapon.

"Never fear. The Atlas military won't let you come under any h-"

The guard never got to finish his sentence as a purple glow engulfed the door, and then pulled the entire metallic plate off its track and down into the ocean below. One of the guards opened fire with a yell, only to take a shotgun blast to the chest and reel backward down onto one knee. The other guard spun and took cover behind the wall adjacent for the door, before he popped out and aimed his rifle. He never got a shot off as the barrel was sliced apart and fell to the floor with a clatter.

Adam Taurus vaulted through the opening in the side of the plane and swung Wilt once again as the unfortunate guard raised his rifle to catch the blade. The crimson metal glowed softly at the impact, and the two began a struggling deadlock as Weiss screamed and ran for the cockpit.

"Turn around! Turn us around and head for Argus _right now!_ "

"Wh-" the pilot began, as he looked over his shoulder to see sparks flying within the cargo hold.

" _Do it!_ " Weiss commanded, before whirling and drawing Myrtenaster. A glyph appeared at the tip of the blade and a barrage of ice ripped through the air to impact Adam's chest, just as he had overpowered the guard and kicked the man to the floor. Suddenly, Adam's eye snapped to Weiss, and he gave her a sickening grin as his aura flickered around his body to catch the frigid projectiles. He slashed Wilt out to the side to deflect a bullet from the other guard, before sinking the blade into the fallen man's chest and earning an agonized scream.

" _Schnee_. At long last."

Weiss bit her lip and charged forward to throw out a flurry of stabs as the remaining guard fired a round into Adam's back. The faunus' aura absorbed the blow as he whipped Blush across Weiss' face and sent her careening into the wall while the plane began a sudden sharp turn. Adam stepped unsteadily as he tried to regain his balance, and the guard dropped his gun to favor the broadsword at his side as he approached.

" _You!_ You're a terrorist! An enemy to all who call Atlas home!"

"And _you_ will die another pawn, serving his callous, entitled _queen_ ," Adam spat before whirling on the man and locking blades. The two exchanged several blows as Weiss rose to stand and rubbed the side of her face with her free hand. She closed her eyes and leveled her fingers along her blade as another glyph appeared, and she yelled through the hangar.

"Buy me time! _Please!_ "

"Aye!" the soldier responded as he lowered his weapon for a sweeping slash, only for Adam to leap the blade and fire a shotgun blast directly into the man's chest. The guard stumbled backward as his aura pulsed and faded, only to raise his sword just quickly enough to block the second shot. "You'll not fell me so easily!"

Weiss opened her eyes as the cacophonous sound of metal against metal rang out in the aircraft once again, and found that the suitcase she had set beside the bench was open. Maria was crawling across the floor toward the cockpit, and Weiss lowered her voice into an impassioned hiss.

" _What are you doing!?"_

"Focus, Schnee, and fight! Leave this to me!" Maria replied, before standing and ducking into the cockpit. She turned to the pilot and put a hand on his shoulder, only to receive a surprised look. "Do you have a weapon?"

"I… yes, but…"

"Then get out there and _fight!_ " Maria commanded. "I'll fly us back to land, and you hold off that madman! Go, now!"

The pilot rushed out of his seat and drew a pistol as Weiss pointed her rapier toward the hole in the side of the plane, only for a large, wispy trail of white energy to fly out and begin a rapid descent. Finally, she readied her rapier and charged to add to the guard's assault on Adam, while the pilot began taking potshots with his pistol.

"Finally ready to face me, Schnee?" Adam sneered as he swirled Wilt, deflecting bullets and cleaving others while he caught the guard's blade with his sheath. "This will be _incredibly_ satisfying."

Suddenly, one final bullet against the blade caused it to glow a dangerous, uncontrolled crimson. Adam's eye flashed with the same warning, and he spun into what seemed to be an immediate monochrome slash as Weiss barely managed to summon a time dilation glyph. She slipped beneath the blade at the last second as Adam sheathed it, and watched in horror as time returned to its normal speed around her.

The guard's hands shook as his blade was cleaved clean in half at a diagonal. As the metal fell, it revealed an echoing cut across his chest deep enough to show shattered bone and ruptured organs. The guard fell almost immediately, as the pilot's head tumbled to the floor along with it. Adam slowly drew his blade once again and leveled it at Weiss as she shook, watching the fresh blood upon the metal drip to the floor.

" _Clever_ ," Adam commented. "But I never let the same trick fool me twice… and now, we're all alone. Faunus, against human. Master, against _slave_. Your family has benefitted from the very _lives_ of mine, and now, I plan to collect on that debt."

"Do your worst," Weiss threatened as she flourished her blade and darted forward for a stab. Weiss froze as Wilt impaled through her shoulder faster than she could blink, and Myrtenaster rattled in her grip before she found herself unable to hold the weapon any longer. The rapier clattered to the ground as Adam viciously ripped the blade up and outward. Weiss screamed and fell to the floor, before scooting backward toward the bench. Adam slowly approached while looming over her, and narrowed his eyes.

" _Pathetic_ ," he spat. Weiss closed her eyes and shook her head, her entire body shivering as she held the seeping wound.

 _"Please…_ "

Adam merely laughed as he leveled his blade at the side of Weiss' neck. "Please _what_ , you entitled, unfeeling little _bitch?_ "

"P-please… fly faster…" Weiss said as she opened her eyes once again to look through Adam's legs and out the open space that had once been the door of the plane. Adam froze before whirling and raising his sword just in time to catch the flying thrust of Sun's staff as he careened into the hangar.

" _You!_ " he roared as Weiss' queen lancer hovered just outside of the plane, its stinger at the ready. "Of _course_ it's you!"

"Miss me?" Adam hissed as he pushed back against Sun's staff. The younger boy held his ground and tensed his muscles as his entire body went numb with sheer rage.

"No one will!" Sun retorted as he collapsed his weapon into two and dodged to the side. Adam's sword cleaved downward into the floor, and Sun leapt into a spinning kick for the older faunus' neck before whipping one of his nunchaku across the man's face. Adam spun as he tried to right himself and thrust Wilt into one of the walls beside the cockpit to stop his momentum. He tore the blade out through the metal and flourished it once, before drawing the weapon upward and pointing it at Sun.

"You and I have done this dance one too many times, _boy_ , and now, you're stepping in where you don't belong _right_ at the moment I've worked so hard for. I won't allow you to ruin this for me."

Sun spat onto the floor, and kicked Myrtenaster along the ground toward Weiss. She took the rapier and stood shakily as she kept her other hand over her wound, and then finally pulled it away to reveal her blood-covered flesh and sleeve. Sun moved to stand in front of her, and narrowed his eyes.

"Call off the bug," Sun ordered as he whipped his nunchaku down and around to tuck them both under his armpits.

Weiss obeyed, and the queen lancer outside of the plane dissipated as the aircraft began a straight vertical descent. The vehicle soon landed upon the cliff just below the radio tower, and the propellers whirred down to fill the hanger with total silence. Sun took a deep breath, and opened his mouth once more to speak.

"…are you willing to help me kill him, right now?"

"S-sun, I can barely hold my wea-"

"That isn't what I asked," Sun interrupted as he turned his head slightly to face Weiss. A silent fury blazed in his eyes, and he asked again in a firm, unfamiliar tone. "Are you _willing_ to help me kill him?"

Weiss found herself unable to tear away from his gaze. "I… yes."

"…then when the time comes, don't hesitate. Give it everything you've got!" Sun ordered as he flew forward, his weapons whirling and shells flying in all directions. Adam closed the distance between them and began to spin his sword in total silence, deflecting blows and aiming stabs for Sun's torso. The boy deftly avoided each attempt, while throwing out clones between attacks to pepper Adam with singular blows.

Weiss followed up his efforts with blasts of ice and fire, hurling shards and bolts during openings as she circled the pair of fighters. Adam continued to deflect and absorb the damage as Sun kicked off a wall and reassembled his staff, only to launch into a heavy overhead. Adam cast the attempt off to the side with Wilt, and the blade pulsed an angry red.

"Sun, his semblance!" Weiss warned. "We can't ju-"

"We have to!" Sun replied. Flecks of spit flew from his mouth as he spun into another string of attacks, only for Adam to calmly counter each blow as they became more predictable and wild. Weiss stopped her efforts as she made her way around the cargo hold, limping slightly and holding her shoulder as she watched Sun's fit of rage.

"Sun, _please!_ "

"Shut _up!_ " Sun roared as he advanced upon Adam. The older man merely smirked, and wagged two fingers toward himself with his spare hand as he rerouted another powerful blow to his side.

"And here we go again. So predictable, and uncontrolled. So _trusting_ in your supposed friends, and abilities. I think we're done, here," Adam lilted as he began to move his katana down to his side toward Blush.

The very moment that Adam's hand moved and his eye flickered red, Sun dropped his own weapon and crashed his hands together. Three golden clones burst from his chest and grabbed Adam's sword arm and shoulder, holding him in place as Wilt made it into its sheath and the world became a monochrome blur. Adam jerked his arm forward by barely an inch as the doppelgangers kept his upper body pinned, and he opened his mouth to speak as realization hit him. Sun cried out before Adam got the chance, and his voice rang clear throughout the plane.

" _Now!_ "

Myrtenaster tore through the center of Adam's jacket as the pointed blade pierced his chest with the harsh sound of shredding fabric and pierced flesh. The bull faunus sucked in a shuddering breath as the blade sank deeper into him while Weiss leaned against the hilt with the weight of her entire body, and let out a noise of effort as she embedded the rapier another few inches. Blood sputtered from Adam's mouth and rolled down his chin as he looked downward in horror, and Wilt and Blush dropped to the floor with a metallic thud as all color returned to the world.

Sun unclasped his hands and began to walk forward, before putting his fingers firmly around Adam's neck. His arms trembled as he held back from squeezing, and his face twisted into a ferocious sneer.

"You took something from me that I can _never_ get back," Sun fumed. "You changed me into what _they_ accuse _us_ of being. Your actions made even _me_ into a monster, and _that's_ why you have to die, Adam. This isn't about revenge. This isn't even about Ghira. This is about what you do to people. People like me, and Ilia, and _Blake_."

For a brief moment, Sun's fingers tightened around Adam's throat, and the man lifted a weak and shuddering hand to try to stop the effort. Suddenly, Sun let go and turned to walk out of the plane as Adam slumped over to the floor while the rapier slipped out from his chest. Weiss watched breathlessly as the man crumpled before her, and all life drained from his eye.

"S-sun?" she asked as she grabbed his weapon from the floor and followed the tailed boy out onto the grass.

Sun stood shaking as he looked out over the water. He spoke in a tense, dangerous tone as he clenched his fists.

"Convince me… not to go back in there, and just lay into his corpse with everything I've got," Sun said.

Weiss walked up to his side, her bloodstained dress catching the light as the thick liquid almost seemed to glow in the afternoon sun.

"…because you're better than that. You're better than h-"

"Don't say it," Sun warned as he closed his eyes. "I'm no better than him, until I prove it. Let's go and prove it. Get Maria. The others are coming."

Sun pointed to a rather large boat speeding along the water beneath the cliffs. Weiss nodded and turned, before heading to the plane and shouting inside of the hangar. Moments later, Maria appeared and walked with Weiss to stand beside Sun, who was waving down at the crew of the boat.

"It's them alright," Sun said, his tone still dangerous. "I want to talk to you later. Privately."

"O-of course," Weiss replied curtly. "Let's… here, just… walk down."

Weiss transferred her sword to her off hand and summoned a series of black glyphs down the cliff. Sun walked off the edge and began jogging vertically down the artificial surface until he ended up on the surface of the boat, and Maria followed shortly afterward. Weiss brought up the rear, and dispelled the glyphs as she finally landed within the confines of the vessel.

" _Weiss!_ " Jaune yelled immediately. "Come here! I'll take you below deck, and get to work!"

Weiss merely nodded and dropped her rapier and Sun's staff, before leaning into Jaune as her adrenaline finally began to wear off. Yang spared the pair a look from her place at the wheel, before accelerating the boat and causing it to lurch forward. Sun moved to sit in the center of the floor silently as he crossed his legs and stared down into the black carpeting of the vessel. Ilia slowly approached him and sank to her knees to try to catch his eye.

"…Sun? What… what happened? We lost signal, and figured that it got cut, somehow. Then, we saw Weiss' plane doubling back, and started speeding over here t-"

Everyone aboard save Maria jumped as Sun's scroll began to ring. Slowly, he pulled the device from his pocket, only to see 'UNKNOWN' and a blank portrait appear across the screen as all signal seemed to return to the device at once. Maria cocked her head to the side as Sun merely started the device.

"Well? Answer it."

Sun breathed in deeply through his nose, before connecting the call and putting it on speaker. A weary, unamused sigh came through the line, followed immediately by Cinnamon Shoal's voice.

 _"Not **everything** I was hoping to accomplish with that little stunt, but I suppose I'll take it."_

"C-cinnamon?" Ilia stammered as Weiss and Jaune stopped mid-stride to turn toward the scroll. "Why are you in range, right now?"

"Why _are_ you in range right now?" Sun repeated, his hand shaking as he held the scroll. "Why are you here, and why the _fuck_ was Adam on that plane? You told us he was headed for Vacuo! You told us you were helping defend the relic, and that you'd take care of him for us!"

" _And I am. Are you not on one of **my** boats? Be grateful for what you're given," _came the reply through the speaker.

Sun set the scroll onto the floor, before standing and running his hands through his hair. "I want answers. _Now!_ "

 _"Seems to me like your answer is already on board with you. The moment you threw your lot in with a Schnee is the moment we became incompatible."_

Sun walked to the edge of the boat, and gripped the rail hard enough for his knuckles to begin to turn white. "This entire time, you've been lying to us? You just fed us a line of bullshit, so you could take a shot at Weiss?"

 _"Not quite this entire time, no,_ " Cinnamon admitted. _"As I said- the hospital was the breaking point. I can't abide faunus who will accept and fraternize with one of our oldest enemies. Everything I told you about Adam was true, and I was quite honestly hoping he would take care of Weiss, before you and yours killed him in a fit of rage. It would've saved me a lot of time."_

"I am _right_ here," Weiss seethed as she approached the scroll, still leaning on Jaune. "If you have something to say to me, then say it. I _trusted_ you! I felt horrible for you, and thought that I was making up for what my family has done!"

 _"Oh, sweetheart, at a certain point there **is** no making up for it. Adam may have gone one step too far with his asinine plans, but killing your family? That's still on the table, as far as I'm concerned."_

"I am _not_ my bloodline!" Weiss yelled as she balled a fist.

" _And neither am I!_ " Cinnamon countered. " ** _My_** _bloodline was happy to take work from your overseers, and claimed we should be thankful for being provided work at all. I'll do what my family couldn't."_

"You'll do _nothing_ with the Schnees, or you'll be answering to all of us!" Sun said as he turned and leaned back against the railing of the boat.

 _"If that's supposed to be intimidating, you really need to work on your skills, kid. I've danced around people twice the man you are, and come out on top every time. You're playing by my rules, now, and if you choose to break them… you won't like what I target next."_

"…how could you?" Ilia asked from her position kneeling on the carpet, next to the scroll. "How _dare_ you, Cin? I thought we were friends. I thought you and I were the same. That we were pulled into a bad situation by circumstances out of our control, and working against a common enemy ruining both of our lives. I trusted you. I _admired_ you!"

 _"We all make mistakes, Amitola. It's become increasingly clear that your goals and mine are incompatible, and for that, I've decided to cut you loose. Honestly, I hope I don't see you again, because I have a feeling that you're the type to take this a bit too far, when it could be settled right now. As far as I see it, we're all even, here. Adam's dead, you've got your transport to Atlas, and we're both free to pursue our own agendas… provided none of you make something out of this that doesn't need to be."_

"No," Sun replied without hesitation. "No, fuck that, and fuck _you_. You could have gotten _all_ of us killed, and you just made a direct attempt on the life of a friend. How long have you been working with Adam? How long have you been planning to just unleash him on us like a rabid dog? What drove you to burn every single bridge we had built!?"

" _Not long at all. He contacted me after Haven, and I harbored him in secret, for a while. He wasn't even officially Fang, ever since he failed his duties at the Academy on account of your little troupe and I working together. Just a crazed bull, seeking vengeance, and I delivered him his target on a silver platter. I actually told him not to harm you or Ilia, but you can see how well he listens. Just another reason to make sure he was disposed of properly. I **knew** you had it in you, Sun. Did you honestly think I'd leave his capture or execution to human police, out in the middle of nowhere?"_

Sun growled, and moved to scoop up the scroll. He brought the device up to chest level, and snarled into the receiver. "Consider this me making an issue. The next time we see you, you're _dead_. I don't care what your goals are, or how you think this is all justified in your sick, demented little game!"

 _"Unfortunate, because you really should care. I've got Fang headed into Lower Atlas as we speak, who aren't expecting to see the Schnee girl alive. If they do… things might get unpleasant. As for me, I'm headed back to Menagerie. Kali had some… interesting ideas, about the future of our people. I think I'd like to talk to her a bit more."_

Sun's grip on the scroll faltered, before he squeezed the device even tighter, to the point of feeling the casing strain in his grasp.

"Don't you _dare_ go near her."

" _Oh, I'm going near her, no matter what. It's what I say and do near, or **to** her, that might change, based on how this conversation ends… and you might never know the difference. After all, it's not like you're going to turn that boat around and come after me when the fate of the world might be at stake on account of Salem, are you, **hero**?"_

Ilia closed her tear-filled eyes and stomped off to head below deck, as Maria moved to follow. Jaune, Weiss, and Yang all stared at Sun as he took several deep breaths, his hand quivering all the while.

"…what do you want from us?" he asked in a tense, even tone.

 _"That's better. Keep this whole… **exchange** under wraps, and I'll play nicely. Start causing problems, and I'll cause a few of my own. First, it would be nice to get a simple 'thank you' for the boat. It's one of my favorites, after all," _Cinnamon teased, her voice dripping with satisfaction.

Sun took several harsh breaths through his nose, and ran his free hand through his hair as he twisted the locks about in impotent fury.

"… _thank you,_ Cinnamon. Anything else?"

 _"Hm. Don't make trouble for my crew, if you see them in Atlas, but that should be obvious. I only plan to spend a little time in Menagerie, and then I'll be making an appearance in the lower city, to set my next little project in motion. We'll do lunch, and talk it over. I could use your help again, Sun."_

Sun's breathing quickened as he set the scroll back down upon the ground, and began to pace.

"Sure. Be seeing you."

 _"Yes, you will. As a parting gift, I'll jam all signals in the area again for another half an hour. That should make it easier to get out of Argus' range."_

Sun paused his walking and looked down at the scroll, only to see 'CALL ENDED' flashing upon the screen. He simply stared at the screen for several moments, before Jaune spoke up in a small voice.

"…Sun?"

Sun's fist whipped out in response, and crashed into the wall surrounding the staircase that led below deck. He let out an animalistic yell as he slammed another punch into the surface before stomping off to the opposite side of the boat. He moved up to the raised platform at the rear of the vessel and sat, staring off into the distance. Weiss shifted slightly in Jaune's grip, and shook her head.

"…let's head downstairs. Give him some space."

* * *

Sun remained unmoving as he watched the seemingly endless ocean trail off before him, the surface of the water glittering beneath the stars. The boy remained totally silent and motionless, bar the subtle, random twitching of the tip of his tail as his mind swirled in a maelstrom of angry thoughts. The footsteps on deck behind him completely escaped his notice, and he didn't realize that he was no longer alone until Ilia gently lowered herself to sit beside him. He caught sight of the girl in his peripheral vision, but neither of them said anything for nearly half an hour, before Ilia finally spoke in a strained, harsh tone.

"I'm… sorry. I'm really, really sorry, Sun. This is all my fault."

Slowly, Sun turned his head to look at her. His expression was one of defeat and detachment, as though the events of the day had drained all life from his features.

"Ilia, don't. It's _her_ fault. Not yours."

"And I convinced you all to trust her," Ilia shot back as she drew her knees into her chest and wrapped an arm around them. "I should've known. I _watched_ her manipulate and toy with so many people in my time with the Fang. I should've known that I… _we_ wouldn't be an exception."

Sun's tail made a wide sweep of the empty air behind him, and he let out a dispassionate sigh. "At least Adam's taken care of, now."

Ilia shook her head, and frowned. "Sun, don't start looking for silver linings amongst her bullshit. That's how she got me. That's how she gets _everyone_. She pushes the boundaries inch by inch, until you're standing on the wrong side and wondering how the hell you got there. It's not just her, either. It was Adam, it's the Albains… it's the _White Fang_. Bitter people so fueled by hate that it causes everything good in a person who joins to just… decay, over time. If you hadn't gotten me out, I'd… probably be standing right there with her, treating you like some tool to be used for a personal agenda."

Sun fell silent once again, before letting out a sigh as he put an arm around Ilia's shoulder.

"But… I did get you out. You saw the truth, even if you couldn't put it into words, and came with us. You're one of _us_ , now. Not one of the Fang."

"A member of SIN," Ilia replied with a muted smile. Sun returned the gesture, and cupped his forehead with his other hand.

"That's… still _so_ awful."

Ilia chuckled for all of a moment, and then sniffled. "Yeah, it really is. But… you're family. _Real_ family. And speaking of family… Kali can handle herself. There's no way Cinnamon is going to be able to take her, Blake, Neptune, _and_ Qrow. They're going to be fine. She's just trying to scare you into obedience."

"I know, and once we see her again... there's going to be _hell_ to pay," Sun admitted as he clenched a fist. "But for now… I don't want Kali in potential danger, or for Cinnamon to start some bullshit that's going to make their lives harder. Besides, with how well she played us… I don't want to take any chances."

"…he said, while sailing off to escort a grimm-attracting relic to a hostile foreign nation with plans to sneak into their most fortified building," Ilia pointed out.

"…shut up, would you?" Sun joked as he rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"I do. I'm just being a pain in the ass."

"It's what little sisters are supposed to do," Sun finished for her as he rose into a stretch. "How do the beds look, downstairs?"

"They're pretty comfortable. The others are already asleep, but I came up to check on you before I turned in. Let's… get some rest, and refocus in the morning," Ilia suggested.

Sun nodded and helped Ilia stand, before looping a hand around her waist and beginning to walk to the staircase.

"Yeah. Once we wake up… we've got a job to do."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

The Haven/Atlas Academy issue and 'got for a walk' are both fixed in chapter 63. Thanks to ConstipatedGenius for pointing both out, _especially_ the Academy one- that's a bit of a big deal. I think I've just about lost my mind rereading and editing these over and over, and sometimes, stupid happens.

And there you have it- What You Stole is 'complete' until after Volume 7. Now, as for what I was talking about with someone 'nailing it' several chapters ago: in a review for Chapter 50, a guest posted…

"You know a while back, Kali was talking to Sun about how she believes semblances reflect someone's personality. I think the same goes for Cinnamon, her semblance is using other people's semblances, I think that's a reflection on how she uses people and gets them to do what she wants."

That's _exactly_ why that conversation existed- because Sun is selfless, and Cinnamon is a manipulative user. People are functions to her, and when those functions stop being useful to her personal goals, they become worthless. Cinnamon's entire purpose and reason for existence is really to give the White Fang teeth again after Adam's death, because I have a bad feeling that canon will do next to nothing with them going forward. Or, in an arguably worse scenario, a new High Leader will emerge from goddamned nowhere and walk in like they own the place and we should fear them. Cinnamon is my solution for that, and she received so much setup here so that she can effectively play that role as this story moves forward.

Speaking of canon, it should be pretty clear by now that I have several issues with it. I won't bother with a long rant or start listing grievances, but I will say that over time, I grew a little frustrated with _What You Stole_ being tied to canon, since I started the story in Volume 4 and I can't exactly go back and retroactively add and subtract from canon without explanation. It's been slightly limiting to 'play by the rules' with this story, so I'm starting another one. The basic idea's been in my head for _months_ now, and it's finally time to get started.

If you want more content from me between now and the 'Volume 7" updates for _What You Stole_ , I'll be starting a new story on **July 29th** with the intent of completely rewriting RWBY from the ground up according to my own ideas. It will begin at "Volume 0" and establish the universe from scratch with some new rules, familiar faces, unusual ships, a few new OCs, and hopefully a _lot_ of surprises and fresh takes on the world of Remnant and its inhabitants. Naturally, it will run through all of RWBY canon while twisting events along the way, and become a massive project much bigger than _What You Stole_. The story will be called **_Arboretum_** , and just for the people who have made it this far, you can have the summary early:

" _While Team RWBY has JNPR, Team STRQ had OKRA. As two groups of four begin their time at Beacon and learn the truth behind the establishment of the school, its role in society, and their enigmatic headmaster, seeds are planted for future generations and legacies are set in motion. The only questions that remain are what exotic fruit those seeds will bear, and who tends the garden."_

Have fun figuring out who 'Team OKRA' is. The only hint I'll give is that it's a combination of first and last names, and it's going to be _wild_.

 _Arboretum_ will update on Mondays and Thursdays every week, because this 'once every three days' update schedule nearly drove me out of my mind. I'm holding off until the end of July to give myself some time to breathe, and also to get ahead in terms of writing chapters, as I have a feeling that _Arboretum_ chapters will be a bit longer than the ones found here. Not to mention, once Volume 7 finishes… both stories will be updating at once.

Hope to see you all there on July 29th, and I'd love to know your overall thoughts on _What You Stole_! It's been an incredible, ridiculous, whirlwind journey, and let's face it… it's only just beginning.

What exactly is Cinnamon's motivation and why does she hate humanity so much? Where the hell is Corsac? What's going on with Scarlet and Salem's crew? Will Ruby's team find Raven? Is Cinnamon actually headed to Menagerie, and if so, what's she going to do there? Will Weiss be able to deal with killing a man, and what does she think of Sun, now? What is Cordovin doing now that Argus' security is offline? Will Sun ever remember to shave? All that and more will be answered in time. See you around!

 **-RD**


	65. That Sinking Feeling

A small, pained groan escaped Sun as he shifted within the small cot. The haze of sleep weighed heavily upon him, and he felt as though he hadn't moved in months. A second, softer noise echoed in the small cabin as he felt a curious warmth shift against his back, and he looked over his shoulder to find Ilia pressed up against him beneath a thin sheet.

"Hey. Get some more sleep," Sun said as he shifted from his side to his back. He put a gentle hand upon Ilia's shoulder, and the girl looked at him through lidded eyes. "I just need some air."

"Mmph," the girl replied as she rolled over once again to face the featureless white wall of the cabin. Sun offered his friend a soft smirk as she closed her eyes, and he slid to the edge of the bed to let his feet touch down upon the deep blue carpet.

As he looked out across the room, something immediately struck the boy as wrong- Maria and Jaune were sound asleep in their own cots on the perpendicular wall, but both Weiss and Yang were missing from the bed across from his. Sun put a hand up to his head and tried to massage away the headache that sprang forth as he began to recall the previous night's events. He used his free hand to fish his scroll from his pocket and took a look at the time, before exhaling in frustration.

It was only four in the morning.

Sun muttered a soft curse to himself as he shook his head and rose from the bed, taking care to make as little noise as possible while his bare feet sank into the carpet. He meandered his way to the small bathroom in the hall and locked the door before relieving himself. With another sigh, he washed his hands and looked into the mirror. The gaunt, expressionless face of Adam Taurus stared back, blood trailing from his lower lip as the life in his eyes faded quickly.

Sun took several steps backward and impacted the wall with a noisy _thump_ as he raised his hands, suddenly feeling very much awake. His breathing quickened as he looked through the small darkened room once again and found an entirely different reflection within the glass. A shirtless boy in his late teens returned Sun's gaze, his chin encircled by a short blonde chinstrap beard that matched his wild, matted hair. The reflection's nose was slightly angled and had obviously been shifted as a result of a messy break, and his eyes were _very_ much alive. The reflection continued to breathe hard as Sun closed the distance and put his hands upon the edges of the sink, unable to break eye contact.

" _Shit_ ,' Sun whispered as a myriad of emotions and thoughts battled for dominance within his chest. "I need sleep. I need to get a grip. I… need to _lead_."

Sun watched as his doppelganger mimicked his words, until he finally brought his eyes down into the basin of the sink. He took in one final, heavy breath through his nose before blowing it out through his mouth, and then nodded once again to his reflection. A slight twinge of frustration caused him to grip the porcelain a bit harder as he thought of Adam's dying moments once again, but he quickly fought it down as best he could. He tried shifting his mind to Blake, only for a stinging sensation to threaten tears at the corners of his eyes to replace his momentary anger. At a loss for what to do, Sun tore his gaze from the mirror and peered out into the hall, toward the bedroom.

There was no movement in the narrow corridor or the room beyond, and the entire boat seemed eerily silent beyond the occasional, gentle creaking of plastic and metal as the vessel bobbed upon the surface of the ocean.

Sun allowed himself a silent nod before he stepped out into the hall and began to head in the opposite direction. It wasn't long before he reached the steps leading up to the upper level of the boat, where Yang stood facing away from him inside of a small enclosure. The girl had her hand upon the ship's steering wheel as she sat in a plushy chair, her attention on the waters ahead. Sun hesitated before clearing his throat and stepping into the semicircle of metal that made up the captain's cabin.

"Please tell me you're not planning on driving all night," he said in a hushed voice. Yang merely looked over her shoulder, most of her frame hidden by the massive chair.

"The rest of it, yeah," Yang replied before chasing her statement with a massive yawn. "Jaune actually took the first shift, after you fell asleep. I volunteered to cover us until seven, and then you're up. Might as well go back to bed while you can."

"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep," Sun admitted as he folded his arms across his bare chest. He shivered lightly as the sea air tingled against his exposed arms. "I… I've got a lot on my mind."

Yang grimaced before turning around in her seat once again. "I can't imagine killing someone is easy."

" _Killing comes easily, with enough practice. You'll see,_ " Adam's voice replied within his head, as clear as day. Sun could still picture the burning forest around Haven Academy within his mind, and hear Ilia screaming for help until he shook his head with a more pronounced shiver.

"No. No, it's not. It wasn't," Sun said quickly. "But I had to. _We_ had to, to protect ourselves, and maybe even protect the world. Adam was… he was…"

"It's okay," Yang interrupted. "None of us are judging you. You saved Weiss' _life_ , and secured our escape. We'll all be here for you, whatever that looks like."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Sun replied automatically, though he felt completely hollow. He paused briefly, before shifting his weight as his tail twisted uncomfortably behind himself. "Do you know where Weiss got off to? Is her shoulder alright?"

"Back of the ship, and yeah- Jaune mostly took care of it, though she said it's sore," Yang said with a sigh. "She couldn't sleep either and said she wants to be alone. Your call."

Sun turned to peek around the large, raised plastic wall that blocked the view of the staircase from the top level of the boat, only to spot Weiss rather easily. The heiress stood with her hands gripped around the metal railing, her unbound snow white hair reflecting the moonlight and giving her entire upper body an almost ghostly glow. She wore a pale blue nightie that reminded him quite a bit of Blake's sleepwear, and the sight caused his heart to tug in longing.

"…you know I _have_ to, right?" Sun asked as he looked back at Yang.

"I know. I would, too. Just speak from the heart," Yang advised. "It's all any of us can really do."

Sun merely nodded and began to make his way toward the back of the vessel. Without a word, he moved to stand beside Weiss and mirrored her stance as he watched the boat kick up frothy water in two symmetrical trails while it puttered along. Neither of the teens said anything for a long time, though Weiss beat Sun to the punch just as he tried to open his mouth to start a conversation.

"…my father ruined his life, and then I was forced to end it."

The words were simple, but enough to send a chill creeping up Sun's spine. He knew immediately what his companion was thinking, and yet, for once, he couldn't find the words to help.

"It isn't fair. Not just to us, but to _him_. To the entirety of the White Fang, to all of the faunus, even," Weiss insisted as she finally turned to look up at Sun. Her eyes were threatening to burst with tears at any second, and the sight brought back the hollow feeling in Sun's chest immediately. "I know that trading lives for others is unreasonable, foolish, and dramatic, and I'm not about to suggest it. But I also don't know how to deal with what I'm feeling. I know there wasn't another way, but I also don't know how to live with what we did."

At a total loss for what else to do, Sun merely opened his arms and offered a hug. Weiss immediately stepped into his embrace and put his core into a death grip unlike any he had ever felt. The faunus gently laid his hands upon Weiss' upper back as she began to sob, and Sun felt the familiar sensation of cold tears upon his bare chest.

"Weiss… I honestly don't know what to say. We had to defend ourselves. I had to defend _you_ , and when it came down to your life or his, the choice was clear. I'm sorry that you had to be the one to land the killing blow, but…"

"It's not about that," Weiss protested as she leaned back and sniffed heavily. "It has nothing to do with the fact that _I_ killed him. We're hunters, Sun. It was only a matter of time." Sun physically felt the sensation of himself going pale as he looked into Weiss' eyes, still finding tears, but also an unfamiliar, cold resolve. "It's about the fact that this is going to keep happening. It's about how my family has perpetuated ruined lives _just_ like his for decades, and how until the dust company is taken away from my father, there are going to be more faunus like Adam Taurus being raised to harbor hatred and resentment as he was. They're all going to despise my name, and they're all going to be _justified_ , even if their actions won't be."

Sun swallowed hard and found himself unable to look away from Weiss' captivating, chilling stare as she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"…I know. And… Ilia's one of those people, too. She lost her parents in a mining accident, working for your father. The difference between her and Adam is that Blake I and were there for her, and we had to _fight_ to get her to redirect her hatred. We barely succeeded," Sun explained slowly.

"…what if someone had been there for _him?_ " Weiss questioned as she let her hands drop to her sides. Sun felt his shoulders tense, until he turned around and put a vice grip on the metal railing once again.

"…Cinnamon was. In the end, she was lying to him and manipulating him, just like she manipulated us, but… their relationship must have _felt_ real, for him to trust her enough to follow through with their plan," Sun reasoned as he wrung his hands around the metal. "Maybe some people can't be saved. Maybe that's something we just have to accept, moving forward."

Weiss took a while to consider the words and folded her arms lightly upon her chest as she let her eyes linger upon Sun's back.

"…I don't know if I'm ready to accept that or not. I do know, however, that when we get to Atlas, once the relic is secured… I have two personal objectives. I want to save every future Adam Taurus that I can from those mines, and I'm going to make my father answer for his crimes against your people. Reaching General Ironwood _has_ to come first for the good of all of Remnant, but once that's taken care of… those two things will be my focus. Any of you are welcome to join me, but I'm not wavering on this," Weiss finished as she gently shook her head.

Sun turned around, keeping his grip on the railing as he pressed his backside into the steel and let his tail wrap gently around the bar. "I'm in, and I know Ilia will be, too. No idea on Yang and Jaune, but… I'd guess they might want to stick with us. I _hope_ they want to stick with us."

"Thank you, Sun," Weiss offered with a nod. "I knew that returning home would be incredibly personal and a struggle, but… all of this has opened my eyes to just _how_ difficult it's going to be."

"Hey," Sun reassured as he unwrapped his tail from the railing and approached Weiss once again. "We're all here for ya. We're all here for each _other_ , the way a team is meant t-"

Suddenly, Weiss rushed forward past Sun and put a death grip on the railing as she leaned forward, squinting.

"Sun! You can see better in the dark, is that a _person!?_ "

Sun whirled immediately and joined Weiss at the railing. He craned his neck as he watched his friend point to a collection of bobbing wooden planks within the ocean, upon which a figure was desperately waving and trying to call out over the noise of the boat's engine.

" _Yang!"_ Sun cried out as loud as he could while turning and breaking into a run for the front of the vessel. "Yang, stop the boat! We need to turn around, _now!_ "

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

We're finally back after a somewhat uneven, but mostly positive Volume 7, as far as I'm concerned. I'm definitely happy that I set up so many threads independent of canon in this story, because while there will be some familiar events, _What You Stole_ Volume 7 is going to be _very_ different. Get ready for a wild-ass ride that will go to a whole new level of madness, and a good 15-20 chapters (most likely) before we get to the next hiatus in preparation for Volume 8.

I'm not sure when the next update will be, but I am sure as hell _not_ going back to 'once every three days' with this. It'll hopefully update once per week or once every other week at the latest. If you're a fan of this story and haven't yet checked out _Arboretum_ , that would be cool, as it's definitely my main focus at the moment and updating weekly. Hope you're all excited for the return of _What You Stole_ and everyone's favorite monkey boy getting the attention he deserves once again. See you all soon!

 **-RD**


	66. What's Old is New

Sun leaned forward slightly over the railing, squinting through the darkness as the boat lurched into a turn. Weiss took several steps to the side as she copied his motion from the back of the ship, while looking back and forth around the back of the vessel.

"Sun, I don't… is there a life preserver somewhere? Vests? Or did Cinnamon not l-"

"Do you _really_ need to ask that question!?" Sun cried as he finally spotted the figure flailing in the water once again. "I'd be willing to bet she rigged this thing to blow once we're within 500 feet of the lower city. Leaving us anything for safety seems pretty damned unlikely!"

"I'll… I'll check downstairs!" Weiss offered as she broke into a run, headed for the staircase. "Don't do anything st-"

Before Weiss could finish her sentence, Sun had launched himself over the railing of the boat and into the ocean, where he began swimming furiously for the floating planks a good fifty feet from the boat. Weiss stopped in her tracks and headed back to the railing as she looked out over the dark waters, quickly losing sight of her faunus friend.

" _Sun!_ " Weiss cried as the engine of the boat shut off and Yang ran over to join her side.

"What the hell is he _doing!?_ " the blonde asked. "The water's probably _freezing!_ "

"Being Sun," Weiss replied with narrowed eyes. "Go and grab towels and look for anything to help downstairs!"

"What are _you_ going to do?" Yang asked as she began to panic.

"I'll… I don't know! Whatever I can!" Weiss insisted as she began to hurriedly take off her heels. "Jump in, if I have to! You'd sink, with your arm!"

"Weiss, don't…!" Yang began, before shaking her head and running for the stairs. "Gods, damn it…"

Sun cut through the water with overhead strokes as he rapidly closed the distance to his target. Briny water stung at his eyes as he kept them locked onto the debris on the surface of the ocean. He pushed a plank of wood aside before diving under the surface to make it beneath a shredded tarp. Upon emerging on the other side of the torn plastic, he began to tread water as he reoriented himself and caught sight of a waving arm within the water.

" _Here!_ " a voice called out, breathless and desperate. "Quickly! I… I don't know how much longer I can hold…"

"Hang on, man, I'm coming!" Sun called back as he turned himself in the water to spot the yelling figure. A man was clinging desperately to a floating wooden pallet to Sun's left, scrambling to secure his waving hand back within the slats of the wood.

"Thank you! Thank you, j-just…" the figure replied, only for his hand to slip on the smooth surface of the wood.

"Save your breath! We'll talk on board the boat!" Sun instructed as he swam up to the figure. The man's eyes were wild and desperate, and his face and short black hair were both soaked. "C'mon, wrap your arm around my back, and swim in time we me! Final push, we can make it!"

The man immediately threw his arm around Sun's back and began to swim toward the boat, where a light was shining on deck. Sun nodded in breathless thanks toward the waving light before beginning to swim in time with his charge. The pair synchronized almost immediately as they made their way through the water and kept their eyes on the boat.

"I… I-I feel faint," the man admitted as his grip began to grow loose around Sun's back.

"Don't you _dare!_ " Sun insisted as he pushed forward with even more strength. "We're almost there, c'mon! I've got you!"

The man spit out a torrent of water as he nodded, gasping for breath. The pair reached the boat in short order, where Weiss was waving her illuminated scroll by the railing.

"Sun! Are you alright!?" Weiss called as she dropped her scroll to the carpeted deck of the boat.

"I'm fine!" the faunus yelled back. "Is there a foldable staircase, or some rope, or… _something?_ We gotta get this guy out of the water!"

"I couldn't find anything!" Weiss yelled as she crouched down and offered a hand. "Hopefully Yang c-"

" _Right here!_ " Yang interrupted as she dropped her armful of objects onto the deck. She knelt beside Weiss and offered her metallic arm beneath the railing, while Sun pushed up on the victim's bare, scar-covered back. Yang reached out to grip the stranger's slick fingers and hefted the male on board with help from Weiss, who grabbed at the man's muscular arm.

"Thank you! Th-thank you!" he said through shuddering breaths as he rose from the water and climbed the side of the boat. Sun's breathing hitched as he watched the man's waterlogged tail break the surface of the water as he was pulled up.

"No…" Sun whispered as he accepted Yang's offered hand. Sun planted his foot firmly into the side of the boat and climbed up to vault the railing in one smooth motion. He landed upon the carpet, dripping freezing water as he glared down at the man laying on deck, gasping for air. " _You! What the hell are you doing here!?"_

Weiss took a step back as she looked down at the soaked man, who had suddenly stopped his erratic breathing as he looked up at Sun.

"Sun, who i-"

" _You_ ," the prone figure hissed as Yang loomed over him with a balled metal fist.

" _Corsac_ ," Sun spat, the tip of his soggy tail twitching in fury. He immediately looked up, and locked eyes with Yang. "Hold him down!"

Yang knelt onto the man's chest without missing a beat, her eyes narrowing as she held down both of Corsac's arms at the wrists. The faunus didn't resist as he hissed in pain, and Sun crouched to regard him upside-down.

"Start. _Talking_ ," Sun seethed as Weiss draped a fresh towel over his bare back. "Otherwise, you're going straight back into the ocean."

" _What's going on?_ " came a familiar voice from down within the stairwell. Sun's eyes widened as he looked toward the raised partition blocking view of the staircase.

" _Weiss!_ Don't let Ilia up h-"

"Too late," the chameleon faunus responded as she rounded the corner. Corsac tilted his chin upward to lock eyes with the girl, and the pair narrowed them in tandem. Ilia cracked her whiplike weapon against the floor of the deck as she began a hasty approach, practically spitting her words. "Keep him steady, Yang, he owes me an _arm!_ "

" _Enough!_ " Weiss cried as she threw her arms down to her sides. " _Please!_ I don't think I can take any more violence tonight, and none of you are thinking clearly! Everyone, calm down, and be _rational!_ "

"What's going on!?" Jaune yelled from his place at the top of the staircase. The boy had his sword and shield drawn as he looked frantically around the deck. "Are we under attack!?"

"No, we…" Sun began, only to take a deep breath and stop himself as he held out a hand toward Ilia. "Alright, _stop!_ Weiss is right! We're doing this _once_ , and we're doing it right! Where's Maria?"

" _Still asleep,_ " Jaune deadpanned as his shoulders drooped ever so slightly. "We can fill her in later. What's going on?"

Corsac let the back of his head hit the carpet with a muffled _thump_ and closed his eyes. "Is there a lifeboat on board? Just… give me a one-man vessel, and a day's worth of provisions, and I won't trouble any of you anymore. I'm no longer with the White Fang, you have me vastly outnumbered, and I am unarmed. Please, just let me _leave_."

"You're not going _anywhere_ ," Sun insisted as he kept his gaze locked upon Corsac's face. "Yang, lift him up, and keep his hands away from his pockets."

Yang did as instructed, and Ilia swooped in to help her press Corsac up against the wall around the staircase. The pair of girls kept his arms crossed behind his back as they mashed his face into the smooth surface of the wall, while Sun moved in and began to check the soaked pockets of Corsac's hakama-styled pants.

" _Nothing_. No scroll, no weapon…"

"No _energy_ or will to fight, either," Corsac added as he closed his eyes. "Listen to your friend, Wukong- be _reasonable_."

"I think I've been more than fair thus far," Sun countered as he turned to address his assembled party. "For those not familiar, this is Corsac Albain. He's a White Fang terrorist that broke Ilia's arm while trying to kill her, and he and his late brother are partially responsible for burning down the Belladonna manor and killing Blake's father."

"I had _nothing_ to do with the incident at the Belladonna manor! I was stationed with Cinnamon at the time, a-"

A resounding _clang_ interrupted Corsac's words as Yang slammed her metal fist into the wall just beside his face.

"Enough _excuses!_ You attacked one of ours and you aided the White Fang at Haven! Give us one good reason not to throw you back into the water!" Yang demanded.

"Because I have no love left for the Fang!" Corsac growled as Yang pressed him into the wall a bit harder. "Cinnamon threw me from her helicopter for attacking Ilia on Adam's command! I was simply doing my duty to the Fang, and I was left to die because of it!"

Ilia's facial scales paled as she listened to Corsac's words. " _Bullshit_. Cinnamon doesn't care about me, or you, or _anything_ but her own quest for control! You were in her helicopter? You helped her set up Adam's death?"

" _Yes!_ " Corsac insisted as Yang continued to press against the back of his head with her palm. "He was an unhinged liability by the time we arrived at Haven, and upon seeing him try to detonate the rigged explosives, I threw in my lot with Cinnamon _immediately_. I was spying on him and reporting his movements to her, and _this_ is how she repaid me, just because I injured _you_. Even on opposite sides of this conflict, she wouldn't stand to see harm come to you, Ilia. That's the plain and simple truth."

"Why should we believe any of that?" Sun questioned as he began to pace. "Cinnamon _just_ made an attempt on Weiss' life, and she's been playing the two of us since the attack on Haven."

"…she's been playing us for a few weeks, yes," Weiss agreed. "Timelines change. Plans change. He could be telling us the truth, and he likely has information about the White Fang's inner workings." The heiress shifted her weight as she folded her arms across her chest and approached Corsac. "Are you willing to give us information, in return for saving your life?"

" _Yes_ ," Corsac offered immediately, only for Ilia to let out a growl.

"He would barely know more than I do! It's not worth the risk!" the chameleon girl insisted.

"Hey, _hey!_ " Jaune cut in as he sheathed his sword and rested it upon Ilia's good shoulder. "There's an advantage to that- _you_ can tell us if everything _he_ tells us is plausible. Not to mention- he's the last person to have contact with Cinnamon, right?"

" _Contact_ ," Corsac seethed. "If you would call being envenomed, punched in the jaw while writhing in pain, and then thrown out of a helicopter 'contact', then yes."

Sun grimaced as his mind raced with possibilities. His tail swished into overdrive, flailing droplets of water onto the carpeted deck as he lifted the towel from his shoulders and began to ruffle his hair with a frustrated noise. Ilia made one of her own, before letting go of one of Corsac's arms and making her way toward the staircase.

"I just want to say, before _any_ decision is made, that I hate this entire situation… and I'm against anything that would benefit him. I also know I have no room to speak, since I was White Fang, too, before I turned it all around. I trust you, Sun. Whatever you decide, I'll stick to it… even if I don't like it," Ilia finished.

Jaune shifted his grip upon Crocea Mors and ran a nervous hand through his hair as he shrugged. "I… don't have enough personal experience with the White Fang or this specific situation to really weigh in, but I'll echo Ilia."

"And I feel the same," Yang agreed as she kept a firm grip on Corsac. "I'll defer to you. You're our leader now, and I trust you in that spot. There are more than enough of us on board to keep tabs on him until we get to Atlas, and then we can figure out what to do from there. Or… we can take the no mercy approach."

"Sun? What are you going to do?" Weiss asked, her voice uncertain as she looked away from Yang with a shiver.

Sun took one last, deep breath through his nostrils before exhaling forcefully as he shook his head. The boy dragged the towel from over his head down and around one shoulder, before shaking his head and staring down at the floor of the boat.

"Yang. Jaune. Escort Corsac downstairs. Let him have a hot shower, some clean towels, and some food from our stores. Rotate shifts guarding him in pairs, along with Ilia and Weiss. I'll drive us to Atlas."

Yang pulled Corsac back from the wall immediately and released her grip.

"Yes, sir. C'mon, Jaune- shift one is you and me."

"Right," Jaune agreed as he offered Sun a nod and moved for the stairs.

Corsac turned to face Sun, at a total loss for words. The man's muscles continued to twitch and shiver involuntarily as he met the teen's steely eyes, and finally, he looked away and shook his head.

"… _why?_ Why do any of this for me? Had you been captured at any point in my time with the White Fang, you would have merely become a caged animal to act as a bartering chip, or slain. So… _why?_ "

Sun clenched his jaw as he stared at the side of Corsac's head. "That's an answer you don't deserve. Get moving, before we treat you as hostile- and don't think you're getting off easy, either. Once we get to Atlas, your ass is getting thrown in a cell."

"Even so," Corsac began as he looked back up at Sun with a conflicted expression. "Thank you. Adam was wrong about you- you're a decent man. I won't forget this mercy."

Sun merely grunted in response and turned away from Corsac as he and his guards made their way to the steps. The faunus boy walked to the rear of the ship and grabbed at the railing once again, before letting out a heavy sigh while hanging his head. Sudden warmth sprang to life behind him, and he looked over his shoulder to find a spinning red glyph floating about a foot above the ground, spewing a gentle jet of fire into the air as Weiss held Myrtenaster and pressed two fingers against the flat of the blade.

"Come warm up," the girl insisted as Sun turned fully and walked to put his hands out near the fire. " _Thank you_ , Sun. Thank you for not taking the more obvious, violent path tonight."

"Part of me wanted to," Sun admitted. "Even with Adam gone, there's still a bit of irrational anger fighting to come through. Maybe meditation with Yang is helping. Maybe I'm just too exhausted to fight anymore."

"You're still fighting," Weiss encouraged. "You're just fighting more intelligently and guarding your heart while you do it. We'll figure out where to take Corsac once we make landfall, and I'll do my part to bring him to justice. Please, get yourself a warm shower and towel once he's finished."

"Yeah, I will," Sun replied with a gentle nod. "He's been in the water a lot longer and needs it more than me… even if he _is_ an asshole."

"He was at least right about one thing," Weiss pointed out. "You _are_ a good man. Blake is rather lucky, to be quite honest. I can only hope that I one day find a man like you, as well."

"You will," Sun replied immediately. "Just don't be afraid to look in places you otherwise might not. Love's a weird and mysterious thing. Cliché, I know, but it's true."

Sun paused and looked up at the stars as his mouth tugged into a frown.

"I just hope she's having more luck than we are, so far…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Corsac out in the water, his rescue, and him 'joining' the party has been in the plan for _ages_ , about as far back as Sun and Ghira chopping wood in the forest behind the Belladonna manor. I've been waiting to write this for so long, and I'm happy with the way it turned out. Next chapter, we'll be checking in on Team BKQN. Ruby's team will have to wait a bit, but once we get there… _hoo boy._

 **-RD**


	67. The Way Home

"…and I thought nothing of it, because the vodka ice cubes were still in the trays in the freezer," Kali explained as she upturned a hand with a shrug. The woman flashed the stunned boy before her a wicked grin as his cheeks paled in realization. "And then Sasha came out of the bedroom just as Elias came out of the shower, after I'd stolen all of the towels. I took one look at him as he tried to cover up and just said- now _that's_ a katana!"

"Oh my gods, you did not," Neptune denied as he brought a hand up to cover his mouth as he let out a peal of nervous laughter. "But then… what about her dirt bike? And the fruit salad?"

"Oh, the fruit salad was already tainted by that point," Kali informed with a dismissive wave of her hand. "As for the dirt bike situation… there's a _reason_ that Sasha and Elias broke up that night. That's all I'll say," the woman said with a wink.

"Wow. Just… _wow_ ," Neptune replied as he shook his head. "Your time at Shade makes ours at Beacon sound like preschool."

"My mother is a degenerate, and I'm embarrassed to know her," Blake said flatly from her position seated next to Neptune on the floor of the cargo plane's hangar. The faunus girl kept her fingers pinched firmly around the bridge of her nose as she heaved a massive sigh. "No _wonder_ you had no problem with me bringing Sun home, even before we became a couple."

"Blake, dear, you have _no_ idea just how deep the rabbit hole goes," Kali teased as she leaned over and flicked at one of her daughter's feline ears.

"And I don't want to, either," Blake protested.

" _I do!_ " Neptune said enthusiastically as he raised a hand, before rubbing them both together feverishly. "Speaking of, got any embarrassing stories about Sun from his time at your place?"

"Oh, _loads_ ," Kali replied with a toothy grin. "But they'll have to wait. I'm going to go and check in on Qrow in the cockpit. We should only be about fifteen minutes out from Kuo Kuana. Once we land, I'll be making a speech about our intentions to begin the rebuilding and cleanup effort. Blake, would you like to contribute?"

The younger faunus looked up at her mother, before quickly looking away as she hugged at her knees.

"…yes. I'll… help. Things are too serious for me to just sit on the sidelines, this time."

"Glad to hear it," Kali praised as she clapped her hands together. "Then I'll be on my way. Neptune, once we figure out our housing situation, remind me to start off with the story of how I managed to accidentally walk in on Sun while he was trying to take pictures of his abs for Blake."

" _Mom!_ " Blake protested before burying her scarlet face in her hands.

"Oh, I will," Neptune offered with an enthusiastic grin. "Seeya, Kal!"

Kali let her fingers roll one by one in a backward wave as she swayed her way into the cockpit and out of sight. Blake's ears flattened as she looked up and to her left at Neptune, where the boy still wore a confident smirk.

"… _Kal?_ "

"Huh?" Neptune asked as he tore his eyes off the cockpit door. "Oh! Yeah, your mom told me to call her by her first name. She's really cool, you know. You should be proud to have a mom like her."

"I am proud," Blake said softly as she lowered her chin and stared at the gap between her legs. "I'm just… feeling a lot of conflicting emotions, right now."

Neptune's smile shifted quickly into a contemplative expression as his mouth pulled slightly to one side. Without a word, he scooted in closer to Blake and snaked an arm around her shoulders, unbalancing her as he pulled her into a sideways embrace.

" _Neptune!_ Wh-…"

"Hey," the boy began as he wagged a finger. "I know I'm not Sun, but I'll do what I can. You need an ear? I'm your man. You wanna know what he might think of something, while we're away? I'd probably know, since he's like a brother to me. He pulled me aside before we left and asked me to be there for you in his stead, and make sure you're doing okay on a daily basis. If you ever want to just privately vent and get stuff off your mind, let me know. I won't judge."

Blake tensed slightly at the words, before finally allowing herself to lean into Neptune's side with a sigh of content.

"I will, definitely," Blake reassured. "And that goes for you, too- if you need to talk about anything, I'll do what I can. Sun's lucky to have you, Neptune. So am I."

"Hey, no way," Neptune protested. "We're _both_ lucky to have _him_. Hell of a guy."

"You've got that right," Blake agreed with another sigh. "Has he… told you anything about… _us?_ "

"Oh, _come on_ ," Neptune said incredulously. "Has he told me anything? I couldn't get him to shut up sometimes at Qrow's place, no matter how hard I tried! There were a few times when he went on long tangents about how much you mean to him until he looked ready to pass out from lack of oxygen. He adores you, girl. Speaking of- I've got a little surprise for you, later. Something he gave me to give to you, at a specific time."

Blake didn't even try to fight back her smile as her ears perked up.

"Thank you, Neptune. I think this is all going to be easier than it otherwise would be, with you here. I just hope they get to Argus alright."

"I'm sure they will," Neptune offered as the door to the cockpit slid open once again and Kali appeared within the doorway.

"We're landing in five. It's… almost time to see home again, Blake," Kali warned with a conflicted look.

"Neptune," Blake began as she looked up at her companion. "Did you pack extra clothes?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course!" the boy replied, confused.

"I may end up soaking your shirt when I see our house again," Blake warned. "I'll find a way to make it up to you."

"Hey, no worries," Neptune replied as he gave Blake a tight squeeze. "We'll get through this together. The Black Claw's in good hands."

"Yeah," Blake agreed as she shifted to stand, taking Neptune with her. "And our work begins now."

* * *

Cinnamon kept her eyes closed tightly as she rested her hands upon her lap. The woman sat alone in the bay of her private helicopter, simply thinking. She rolled a swatch of black material back and forth between her fingers and inhaled deeply through her nose as she ran through the events of the previous few days in her mind. Despite the certainty with which she had carried things out, she found herself filled with conflicting emotions. Memories flew by like a slideshow, each more unpleasant than the last.

Corsac reaching out to her as she pushed him out of the very same helicopter. Adam's glassy, unfocused eye as she removed his blindfold from his corpse. The pain and anger in Ilia's voice coming through the line of her scroll.

With another deep breath, Cinnamon opened her eyes and looked down at the bloodied cloth laced between her fingers. Almost immediately, she extended her left arm out to the side and let the black strand fly out of the helicopter and into the sky, where it quickly became lost in the violent winds. Cinnamon merely shook her head as she reached down and to her left to grab her crossbow gauntlet, before beginning to strap it on.

"We're here," the pilot said as he looked over his shoulder to the solitary woman sitting behind him.

" _I know_ ," Cinnamon snapped as she cracked her knuckles. "Put us down outside of the camp and leave this to me."

"Yes ma'am," the pilot replied as he turned his head to face forward and offered her a heavy sigh. Cinnamon let out a soft noise of frustration in reply and folded her arms across her chest.

"…I've got a lot on my mind. _Sorry_ ," she offered, keeping her eyes off the pilot.

The man turned to look behind himself again, his helmet concealing his facial expression.

"No, no, I didn't… of course, ma'am. You have nothing to apologize for."

"I have a _lot_ to apologize for, to many different people," Cinnamon countered as the helicopter began a straight vertical descent. She leaned to look out the open window once again and saw a crowd of figures clad in white, black, and red waiting for her on the ground below outside the wooden gates of a massive campground.

"…I disagree," the pilot replied. "Even so, good luck."

Cinnamon lightly touched her palm to the man's shoulder before she hopped out of the helicopter and landed in the field before the gate. The grass fluttering in the wind generated by the helicopter's rotating blades slowly began to calm and then return to stillness as the giant vehicle wound down, and the assembled members of the White Fang stood in silence. Cinnamon took a long, deep breath before shaking her head and making her way to the gate, where guards within the watchtowers at either side opened the portal without question.

A trail of faunus formed behind their leader and watched with apprehension as Cinnamon made her way to the raised wooden platform at the center of the camp. Despite the lack of warning or call for assembly, little by little, the entire campground seemed to assemble before her. As she stared out over a sea of the White Fang's signature colors, Cinnamon took a deep breath, and began to project her voice.

"Brothers and sisters of the Fang. Adam Taurus…" she paused, finding that the script she had rehearsed in her mind for just such an occasion was failing her. She looked out over the crowd, only to lock eyes with a young, redheaded man in a black half-mask standing near the front. The male faunus gave her a subtle nod as he shifted his large, pale orange tail behind himself, and she offered him a slight smile in return. As quickly as her face had changed, it shifted once again to an expression of anger as she returned her attention to the crowd.

"…Adam Taurus was a _mistake_ ," Cinnamon finished, her words dripping with venom. "He was an unhinged, volatile, hate-filled tyrant who made an attempt to use _my_ technology against our own people when on the brink of defeat at Haven Academy. As he was faced with arrest, he tried to detonate the planted charges against not only the academy, but himself, and _us_ , as well. He was a power-hungry, vindictive fool willing to ally with _humans_ for his own personal gain, and I have proof from the mouths of other traitors that he personally killed Sienna Khan. Now, he has joined her in death, and so has Corsac Albain."

Feverish conversation broke out amongst the assembled faunus, and Cinnamon raised her hand for silence. Eventually, it came, along with a mixture of expressions within the crowd. Some of the faunus appeared livid, others relieved, and still more nervous.

"The White fang has strayed. We are in chaos, pursued not only by the Mistrali police on account of our former leader's misjudgment and misguided faith in humans, but soon, by Kali Belladonna and her upstart Black Claw, as well. Here, _now_ , I am formally declaring myself High Leader, and I will hear and _deal with_ any objections before we get to the matters at hand. Anyone?"

All conversation came to an immediate end as Cinnamon swept her eyes over the crowd, looking for any dissent. Upon finding none, she allowed herself a small smirk and began to pace upon the stage.

"I vow to restore our reputation to that of a feared and respected agency of faunus. I _will_ bring us back the glory we once had in Ghira Belladonna's age. His surviving widow thinks to make Menagerie into _the fifth kingdom_ , but such ambitions will never come to fruition. Our task will be far simpler, and far more realistic. From here, our first move will be t-"

A bout of hysterical laughter broke out from somewhere within the center of the crowd of faunus and escalated quickly in volume. Several robed members of the White Fang stepped back from the doubled-over man at its source, leaving a ring of unoccupied dirt around him. At the sight of his isolation, the man straightened his posture and threw his head back in even more raucous laughter, causing the hood of his black robe to slip from around his head. He had black, greasy-looking hair pulled back into a tight, braided ponytail, and sallow eyes of gaunt yellow.

"Who would _dare?_ " Cinnamon questioned as she attached a drum magazine to her arm-mounted crossbow.

More laughter echoed out around the campground as the man walked forward and the crowd parted for him. It wasn't long before he reached the wooden steps and climbed up to the stage, where he tossed his cloak away to reveal a glittering steel scorpion's tail attached to a brace around his waist. The mechanical limb arched up and over his shoulder as the stinger began to drip a dark purple venom, and the man's eyes flickered violet.

"My queen would, and I'm here to tell you _exactly_ what your next move will be. _Or else_."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Volume 7 is going to be divided into several sections- Sun's team arc, Blake's team arc, Ruby's team arc, and Cinnamon's arc. All but one of those are now in play, and also the reason that there's no way in hell this is finishing in 15-20 chapters. I think I knew that as soon as I wrote it in the note of 65, but I can dream…

 **-RD**


	68. New Faces

"…and yes, Haven Academy was saved in the end, but I couldn't have done it alone," Blake said into the microphone attached to the podium before her. She paused to look out over the crowd, feeling incredibly numb as her thoughts continued to drift to the ruined mansion behind her. "It took multiple teams, and both faunus and humans to save the school. It's going to take _all_ of us to elevate this island to something greater, and to repair… everything we've lost. My home, our relationships… we have a lot of work to do, among those who are still here. I hope you're all willing to join us on that journey."

Blake quickly stepped away from the podium as her mother replaced her and launched into a closing statement about repairing the mansion and strengthening Kuo Kuana. Only choice words made it through to Blake's mind as she half-listened while focusing most of her energy on keeping her eyes off of her former home. Her shoulders were tense, her throat felt tight, and her ears remained flat to her skull until a familiar, gravelly voice pierced through her mental haze.

"Hey," Qrow said softly as he leaned down slightly to speak to the faunus. "You did great, kid. If you need a minute, no one's gonna blame you. We're all exhausted and should probably turn in soon, anyway."

"I'll be fine," Blake insisted. "It's just… _hard_ to see the mansion again."

"I get it," Qrow replied with a nod. "And I'm sorry. The upside is that the rebuilding effort has already started, but we definitely need to find a new place to stay. Any ideas?"

"One," Blake said quickly. "Maybe… I'll go and check it out with Neptune, while things finish up here? You're right. I should probably go," she admitted as she stole a sideways glance at a section of wall behind her. Charred wood gave way to a large blue tarp where a wall of the Belladonna manor had once been, and the very sight caused Blake's breath to catch in her throat.

"Go. I'll help Kali answer questions, or whatever else," Qrow offered as he waved a hand and headed toward the podium.

"Thank you," Blake said quietly before sniffling and rubbing at her nose. She quickly walked across the open area in front of the mansion and toward Neptune, who stood far off to Kali's other side. A quick cheer rose from the assembled faunus at the base of the steps leading to the manor, and Neptune raised his voice as he unfolded his arms from across his chest.

"Hey, you alright? I know this must be hard…"

"I'm fine," Blake replied quickly, only to heave a sigh. "I'll _be_ fine, I mean. Come on- I want to look into finding us a place to stay. It's not safe in the manor."

Neptune eyed the partially hollowed-out structure with suspicion, unable to stop himself from hissing as he cringed. "Yeah, I… probably not. What'd you have in mind?"

"Even here in Menagerie… things have been silently segregated, for a long time," Blake explained as she began to walk while waving Neptune along to follow. "The White Fang has always had a presence here, and they've largely lived in small pockets with each other, even when my family thought that they were serving Menagerie's better interests. I guess that should have been the first sign that something was amiss…"

"Yeah, well, sometimes it's easy to overlook the obvious when you're too involved with something," Neptune offered. "Did all of the Fang leave the island for the attack on Haven?"

"Most of them," Blake confirmed. "I think some did stay behind and are now converted to our cause… but there are a lot of abandoned buildings standing around. While it's probably not the best idea to just assume and take over a seemingly vacant home… there _is_ an inn here that used to serve the Fang almost exclusively. There will probably be a lot of vacancies, and it would give us each a room to ourselves."

"That's not a bad plan," Neptune offered as he cracked his knuckles and shook out his hands. "Any idea who's running the joint, though?"

"Potentially us," Blake replied. "The former owner was apparently a member of the Fang, so… we could be walking into an empty establishment, or we could be dealing with someone new."

"With our luck? A bunch of Fang stayed back, and we're about to start a bar fight," Neptune mused as he popped his neck to one side and offered Blake a grin.

"It wouldn't be my first one," Blake commented flatly.

"…what _exactly_ did you do while in the White Fang…?" Neptune questioned as he arced a brow.

"Never mind that," Blake said as she shook her head. "We're here."

The pair of teens stopped walking near a large building with a staircase running along the back side, leading up to a café area upon the roof. Blake allowed herself a small smirk as she read the hanging sign for _The Notched Blade_ as it swayed gently in the subtle wind. Warm lights glowed from within the frosted windows, though the usual raucous noise from inside was strangely absent.

"Homey," Neptune commented as he sniffed at the air. "Smells like beer. Which, you know, I totally haven't had before, being underage. Neither has Sun! He's a good boy. Absolutely."

Blake merely rolled her eyes as she pushed her way through the door, only to find a solitary figure nursing a steel tankard of ale at a table in the corner. She swept her eyes around the empty floor with a sigh and walked up to the bar with Neptune in tow. No sign of life bar a dirty rag resting atop the polished wood was present. Blake craned her neck to try to look into the kitchen area, only to jump slightly as a piercing voice rang out from within.

" _Yeah, yeah, hold on to your tits! I'm comin'!"_

Neptune once again arced a brow at the statement. "This ought to be interesting."

"Or irritating," Blake remarked as the hanging divided curtains suddenly pushed forward.

A busty woman in a battered t-shirt with a faded band logo stomped her way up to the bar, where she planted her hands upon the wood. She wore heavy eyeliner, had several piercings along the outer edges of her ears, and her hair was a mixture of deep purple and blood red strands. A pair of large, midnight-black bat wings flared out to either side of her as she impacted the wood. She glowered at the pair of teens for a moment until her expression softened at the sight of Blake, and she stood up a bit straighter with a wicked grin parting her black-painted lips.

"Well, fuck me sideways," the woman commented as she jabbed a finger toward Blake's chest. The feline faunus took a step backward instinctively and bristled, while the woman leaned over until her chest was brushing against the bar itself. "You're Blake Belladonna, huh? First round's on me! You make a hell of an impression, and I'm all-in on your little revolution."

"Thank you, but I… don't drink," Blake offered as her ears flattened. "We're actually l-"

" _Hey there_ ," Neptune interrupted as he slid up to the bar and propped an elbow atop it, before resting his chin in his palm. "Neptune Vasilias- and I'll take that drink. What's good around here, cutie?"

Blake stared in disbelief back and forth between the two as Neptune offered the woman a cheesy grin. She straightened up once again and tugged down on her worn shirt, though it still didn't quite reach her navel.

"…Amaya Aka, and I'll mix you something to knock your ass out. Keep your dick in your pants."

"Someone's _thirsty_ ," Blake hissed as Amaya turned away and began rifling through shelves of alcohol. "What happened to being underage?"

"A cute bat happened," Neptune whispered back as he stood to his full height and brushed off his shoulder. "Besides- age is just a number, right?"

"Look at her arms. She would _break you_ ," Blake spat. "And what happened to Weiss?"

"Way, _way_ out of my league, and we're apart for at least a few weeks, so…" Neptune trailed off as Amaya turned and offered him a glass filled with a yellow liquid and long straw. "Thanks!"

Amaya merely shook her head and narrowed her eyes at the boy before turning to Blake.

" _Anyway_ , you were saying? What do you need, Blake?"

"We need a place to stay," Blake said as she glared at her companion while he sipped his drink. "We were wondering if we could trouble you for a set of four rooms. We can pay, of c-"

" _Done_ ," Amaya said with a wave of her hand. "And you're not paying shit. I've got your back, and you and yours staying here will drum up business again. Right now, people are too scared to set foot inside because the Fang used to use this as a scheming room or whatever. Well, that, and it smells like piss and vomit."

"Little bit," Neptune admitted. "But the view more than makes up for it."

"Ignore him," Blake insisted as she smacked a hand into Neptune's chest hard enough to earn a yelp of protest. "And thank you, Amaya. Really. We owe you."

"Yeah, yeah, we'll get to that later," the woman said dismissively as she walked out from behind the bar and toward a hallway extending from the side of a room. "I'll put you guys on the second floor so you get some actual peace and quiet. C'mon."

Blake moved to follow immediately, while Neptune brought up the rear with a whistle as he kept his eyes on the back of Amaya's deep purple skirt and the fishnet-covered legs beneath.

"Cool, cool. So, hey, what's in this? I'm feeling a bit of a buzz already."

"Straight apple juice," Amaya deadpanned. "I figured you were too much of a pussy for anything legitimate."

" _Hey!_ "

* * *

Cinnamon stared across the platform at the invader, and silently clenched her fist beneath her arm-mounted crossbow. A series of clicking and shuffling noises rang out from within the crowd as several members of the White Fang aimed firearms at Tyrian, only for Cinnamon to raise her other hand in warning.

" _No,_ " she said authoritatively. "I'll handle this alone… for now."

"You'll _handle_ me?" Tyrian asked as he put a hand to his chest, his face the very portrait of offense. "Oh, I beg to differ. Overconfidence is a dangerous ally, Miss Shoal."

"So is ignorance," Cinnamon remarked as she raised her weapon toward Tyrian's chest. "What do you want?"

"To make good on a debt your dear former leader had to my goddess," Tyrian said smoothly as he lowered his hand back to his side and adopted a ready stance. "Whether _you_ pay that debt, or _I_ take over the Fang and use them to pay it, I don't particularly care."

"Your goddess," Cinnamon repeated as she narrowed her eyes. A single word crossed her mind as she sized up her opponent, and her heart skipped a beat. _Salem_.

"There's no fighting this tide, little fishy," Tyrian taunted with a mirthful cackle. "Even if you were to subdue me, you won't be able to swim away fast enough. She is a leviathan to your toothless minnow, and she _demands_ tribute for your clan's failures at Haven!"

"You know… I've grown tired of people thinking they can take things from me against my will," Cinnamon replied before charging forward.

Tyrian leapt backward and curled his tail underneath himself while raising a brow as the woman rushed in. His bladed bracers snapped to life to intercept Cinnamon's overhead blow as the arms of her crossbow flipped forward to extend into a pair of parallel blades. Tyrian crossed his arms to place her into a deadlock as she leaned in, her expression calm and serious as Tyrian cackled.

"Oh, I _like_ you!"

"The feeling's not mutual," Cinnamon spat as she rocketed a knee forward for Tyrian's crotch. His tail whirled around him and batted her appendage away before turning and thrusting forward, stinger-first, for her stomach. Cinnamon dodged to the side and rolled out of the weapon clash, before dropping to one knee and letting a series of bolts fly for Tyrian.

"So _close!_ " Tyrian taunted as he dived to the side into a series of handsprings, before looping his way back toward Cinnamon. "But I'm already getting _bored_."

Suddenly, the man's eyes flashed a neon purple as an energy wave of the same color rippled down his body and concentrated into the points of the blades on his right arm. He lunged forward at high speed and thrust for Cinnamon's chest, only for the woman to dive out of the way and roll to stand at the edge of the platform.

" _And there it is_ ," Cinnamon said ominously. "Showing your hand first is bad form, my friend."

Tyrian's aura rippled back up and around his body as he turned with a sneer. "You speak as if you've got something up your sleeve. I've faced down far more intimidating opponents than you, _High Leader_."

"Maybe you have," Cinnamon replied as she unstrapped her weapon and let it fall to the wooden floor of the stage. "But you're about to become your own worst enemy."

Tyrian let out more mad laughter as he raised his arms and began to fire a hail of bullets while strafing around Cinnamon. The woman responded by leaping off to the side and sliding along the stage, circling opposite of Tyrian until he began a charge of his own. Cinnamon suddenly leapt high into the air and narrowed her eyes, watching for the first sign of movement from her grounded opponent. Tyrian took the bait and thrust his tail for the spot in which he expected the woman to land, and she slid downward into a split while taking hold of the limb, just below the stinger.

Without a word, Cinnamon yanked the faunus toward herself and curled her arm as her spines flexed outward. Tyrian let out a cry of pain as a venomous quill jabbed into his stomach, and stumbled sideways as he was thrown by his tail. The man kept his footing as he grit his teeth through the searing pain that worked its way up his abs and throughout his body. He let out an anguished cry before grabbing the embedded quill and hurling it to the ground in an impassioned fury.

"You're dead, you _bitch!_ "

"Try me," Cinnamon said confidently as she hissed in pain as well. A gaping circular wound was in place of where one of her quills had been, but she raised her arms into a boxing stance all the same. She waited patiently as Tyrian darted in again, and when he was within a few feet of her, she extended an arm and made a quick pulling motion.

Tyrian blinked in confusion as Cinnamon's eyes adopted his signature violet coloration, and he felt all of his aura concentrate into the points of his right gauntlet against his will. He barely had time to open his mouth as Cinnamon slipped forward and threw a hard chop for his throat, stealing his breath and causing him to double over as he wheezed, clutching his throat. A sudden impact at the back of his head from the woman's elbow caused him to quickly crash down to the floor, and then his vision went black.

Cinnamon drew in shuddering breaths as she stood over her unconscious opponent, blood trailing down her left arm from the oozing wound. A cheer broke out within the assembled members of the Fang as the lizard faunus that she had looked to earlier leapt up onto the stage, his eyes full of concern. The man pulled down his half-mask to show a worried frown, and he quickly closed the distance as he reached out to try to take her arm in his hands.

"I'm _fine_ ," Cinnamon insisted as she pulled back her limb. She looked around the concerned man as she raised her voice once again and addressed the crowd. "Get him into a cell, and leave me! I am _not_ to be disturbed!" She looked back to the lizard faunus and shook her head, before lowering her voice to a gentler tone. "Not here. The command tent."

"Okay," the man replied in a low voice as he moved to follow the woman. "It's good to have you back, Cin."

Cinnamon spared the man a look over her shoulder and offered him a soft, genuine smile of relief.

"…good to _be_ back, Dai."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Not to worry- Sun will return next chapter, and we'll be checking in with Ruby's crew as well. I haven't forgotten about them. Probably.

 **-RD**


	69. Nice

"…so, once we get to Mantle… what's the plan?"

Sun looked to his left, where Ilia leaned up against the wall of the captain's enclosure. He quickly looked back out to sea, where the city of Atlas was finally visible as a small, floating island just over the horizon.

"Well… we've got a few things we need to take care of. The relic's our priority, but Corsac's potentially more of an immediate threat. I say we take him to the authorities, and then start worrying about the lamp and getting it up to Atlas," Sun suggested.

"…one thing," Weiss said hesitantly from her place against the wall on Sun's right. "All it would take to get us _all_ thrown in jail is for Corsac to implicate Ilia as a member of the Fang… and a simple database search would likely incriminate her _immediately_. Remember, this is the police force of _Atlas_ we'll be dealing with, and there's security footage of every raid the Fang has ever attempted against their forces. Are you in any of those recordings?"

"...probably, yeah," Ilia admitted as her facial scales faded in color. "In a mask, but… my hair, my skin, my _weapon…_ "

"Then _I'll_ turn in Corsac, along with Maria and Jaune. You take Yang and Ilia and use some of your clout as Team RWBY to get to the upper city," Sun replied.

"No need," Weiss countered with a wave of her hand. "We should still split as you suggested, but I can just call Winter. She'll be able to take us up top, and we'll contact you with a rendezvous point."

"Cool. Then I guess we've got a pretty solid idea of what to do next. You girls get enough sleep?" Sun asked as he looked back and forth between his companions.

"No," they said in tandem.

"And we know you didn't, either," Ilia added as she rolled the shoulder of her broken arm and shifted the sling. "We're all exhausted and miserable, and Weiss and I are injured. Jaune may be helpful, but he's not a magician. Are you still hurting?"

"…yes," Weiss admitted as she cast her eyes to the floor. "My shoulder is killing me, but I didn't want to say anything with so much else going on. Hopefully, once we arrive at Atlas Academy, we can bargain with General Ironwood for temporary room and board, and you and I can visit the infirmary."

" _Bargain?_ " Sun asked incredulously as he gave Weiss a puzzled look. "With the amount of work we're doing in service of Remnant right now, we should be _given_ a place to stay, as far as I'm concerned. We're transporting an apparently world-ending artifact, a White Fang prisoner, and just _killed_ their High Leader. For free."

"Well, when you put it like that…" Weiss replied, her expression uncertain.

"I'm sorry you both had to… take care of him," Ilia said awkwardly. "After what he did to Sienna, and the Fang as a whole… I should have been responsible for putting him down, as penance for joining their organization. I still feel like I owe you, Sun… and _all_ of the faunus. Maybe Corsac and I aren't so d-"

" _Stop_ ," Sun commanded, before gritting his teeth. "Don't even _try_ to compare yourself to h-"

"And why not?" Ilia interrupted. "Sure, he hurt me, and you and I are close, but that isn't unforgivable on its own. Do you know whether or not he's actually killed anyone, personally? If he hasn't, what makes him so much worse than me? Maybe you should take _me_ to prison, too. I hate him, and having him around is just making me feel worse about myself."

Sun kept his eyes ahead as Atlas grew larger on the horizon.

"…I think you two should go and relieve Yang and Jaune. It's been an hour."

"I am _not_ sharing a room with _him_ ," Ilia spat. "Give me something else to do and I'll do it, but if you want Corsac to arrive in Mantle in one piece, don't make me guard him."

Sun sucked in a breath and fought back an urge to yell as he spoke in a voice of threatening calm.

" _Ilia_ , this isn't about what any of us _want_ to do, it's about what we _have_ to d-"

"It's alright," Weiss cut in. "I can handle him on my own. He's unarmed and weak, I'm in a pretty volatile mood, and you're not far, if something goes wrong."

Sun heaved a sigh and let his shoulders slump as he shook his head.

"Alright, _fine_. Ilia… go make sure all of our stuff is packed and ready for transport," Sun commanded with a grumble.

"You got it," Ilia replied with a mock salute before turning.

"…and little sis?"

Ilia froze in her tracks as Weiss raised a brow.

"Once we put Corsac away and have some downtime at the Academy… you and I need to talk. Bro to sis," Sun said as gently as possible.

Ilia's expression softened form one of indignation to appreciation, and she shook her head with a muted smile.

"…yeah, we will. Thanks, Sun. And… sorry, for being a bitch," Ilia said sheepishly.

"It's cool," Sun reassured while flashing her his trademarked wide grin. "I've been a little bit of a bitch, too."

Ilia merely rolled her eyes and walked off to the other side of the deck, where she began rifling through boxes and equipment.

"…even without being blood related, you two have the kind of relationship I've wanted all my life with my sister," Weiss said quietly as she approached Sun. "I envy it. Truthfully, I envy _you_ , quite a bit. I don't know if you can see it, but a lot of people love you, Sun, and for good reason."

Sun raised a brow as he gave Weiss a confused look. "You and your sister aren't on good terms…?"

"It's not that," Weiss denied as she let her hand slip from Sun's shoulder. "Between being incredibly busy, and as of a few years ago, _disowned_ by my father… we haven't had much of a chance to really talk and bond. She spent most of her childhood angry and alone, and to be honest… so did I."

"…maybe we should talk once we get to Altas, too," Sun offered. "I know what it's like to grow up feeling mostly alone, even when surrounded by other people. As for the rest… I'm starting to get the impression that I'm lucky to have you guys, yeah, and I think of you all as one big extended family. Let's make an effort to make your adulthood kick ass, to make up for your childhood."

Weiss sighed lightly and gave Sun a nod. "I like that idea. With any luck… maybe we'll find some stability at Atlas Academy, even if it's just for a little while."

"I mean, why not?" Sun questioned. "Cinder's dead, we've got the only relic actively in play, Salem has no idea we're taking it to Atlas, and nobody knows where the Winter Maiden's at, so once we get it secured at the school? We're home free, as far as I'm concerned. Then, it's just a matter of getting everyone back to us and holding down the city while we train."

"It'll be nice to have the entire party together again," Weiss confirmed. "Especially Blake."

Sun's mouth upturned into a sad smile immediately, and he nodded as he kept his eyes on the city ahead.

"…especially Blake."

"I'll see you soon," Weiss offered before patting Sun's shoulder and heading for the staircase. "Chin up- we've got a plan, and we're doing well."

Sun nodded silently in response and turned his eyes back to the open ocean and floating city ahead. All three of the teens missed the sight of a colossal red fin cresting the water just a few thousand feet from the starboard side of the boat.

* * *

"I am _so_ glad that Ozpin intervened when we were out shopping for this trip," Nora said to break the minutes of silence as the group walked their way through a calm, darkened forest clearing. "Hiking boots were an _awesome_ idea."

" _I_ suggested we all invest in better footwear after we walked from Patch to Mistral," Ren reminded as he shook his head. "And I was promptly ignored the second we arrived in the city."

Ruby let out a nervous chuckle from her position at the front of the line.

"Well, we… _were_ pretty busy, and tensions were high…"

"…we sat in a house for _over a month_ ," Ren said flatly. "And I brought it up several times."

"So! Sage, how's it goin'?" Ruby asked as she looked over her shoulder and craned her neck to avoid Ren, who was glowering at her from a distance of only a few feet. "This is all pretty crazy, right?"

"It's certainly something," the tall, dark man commented as he rolled his neck. "We're really _walking_ all the way back to Patch?"

"Actually," Oscar said in a calm voice from his position at the back of the line, "I've been thinking. It may be wise to rent a vehicle once we reach the country roads of Anima, only to abandon it later. We do want to be visible and catch Salem's attention if at all possible, but ideally, we should do that as far from Sun's crew as possible, and only after finding Raven. The only reason for us to be walking right now is to hide the movements of all three groups for a time. Grimm are rare in this patch of forest, so we should be relatively unknown until we hit the open road."

"Professor?" Ruby questioned as she turned and began to walk backward. The boy nodded, and Ruby returned the gesture. "Alright, then. One problem… can any of us drive? I mean… any of us who don't look 14?"

The party slowed to a halt, and the members all looked between each other in a panic until Sage raised his unoccupied hand.

"Yeah. I can take care of that. Got a license and everythin'," he reassured while he shifted his sword as it rested against his shoulder. "If that's the plan, then let's get through this forest quickly, and find ourselves a rental."

"As much as I hate to be the voice of dissent," Ren began as he shifted his grip on the straps of his backpack, "I am… honestly rather _exhausted_ after nearly a week of constant walking with little sleep in between, and I doubt that I am the only one."

"Oh, thank the _gods_ ," Nora said with a heavy sigh as she unceremoniously dropped her oversized backpack to the forest floor. "This is a big clearing, the moon is out, and I'm tired of forcing a smile so I don't have to be the first one to say I've just about had it. Count me as vote number two for bedding down for the night."

"Three," Sage offered with a shrug. "Walkin' a good distance in short order's good. Bein' too tired to fight off grimm isn't."

"If you're all tired, then I think we should call it a day," Ruby agreed as she looked to Oscar. The boy's eyes flashed green, before he slumped forward and rubbed at his forehead.

"Yeah," the boy replied with a far less composed and confident voice. "Me, too."

"Right," Ruby said rather loudly, with a sudden infusion of pep in her voice. "Okay! Ren and Sage- tent duty, as usual. Oscar!"

"Start a fire, and get cooking," the boy filled in with a nod. "On it, Miss Rose."

Ruby gave the boy a quizzical look, before shaking her head and unslinging Crescent Rose from her side and transforming it into scythe mode.

"Nora! You and me, border patrol!"

"You got it," Nora said with a nod as she whipped out Magnhild with a confident grin. "We'll see you boys in a bit!"

The three males all offered some form of grunt, nod, wave, or combination of the three as Ruby and Nora set out into the tree line, walking silently. Ruby waited until they were out of earshot before speaking in a hushed voice, her eyes on the darkened shadows of the maples and oaks ahead.

"…you know… sometimes, I get tired of smiling, too."

It was Nora's turn to raise a brow as she and Ruby passed a tree on either side.

"Uh, you okay there, Ruby?" the redhead asked.

"…kinda," Ruby admitted as she stepped over a fallen tree and continued forward. "It's just… really getting to be a lot, lately. Even when we've 'slowed down' and 'rested' right after Beacon, and in Mistral, things have been tense and high stakes. More and more people are getting involved on both sides, and I can't help but feeling like it's all building to something horrible. Something we won't see coming."

Nora furrowed her brows as she leapt over the same log and followed Ruby's movements.

"At this point, I think it's just going to boil down to a matter of supporting each other, and maintaining _trust_ ," Nora offered. "I trust you. We all do, I think. We can trust Ironwood. We can trust Qrow. We can trust Sun. We can trust Oz. Those are all givens."

"Yeah, you're right,' Ruby admitted with a sigh. "Maybe it's just the lack of sleep talking. After all- Cinder's gone, and that's one huge threat off the board. I guess right now, I should just focus on what to say to Raven. I have no idea how to convince her, but Professor Ozpin said he can contribute."

"Then maybe that should be your takeaway," Nora pointed out. "Start letting us share the burden and take the lead once in a while. Sure, we might trust you, but you're not superhuman. None of us are. If you want, I'll take the lead tomorrow and take charge of the map and stuff."

"Would you?" Ruby asked as she came to a stop and leaned against a tree. "It would be nice not to have to think, for once."

"You'll do nothing _but_ think if you don't have something to take your mind off your mind," Nora protested with a grimace. "That's the other thing- you've gotta stop living in your own head. Start sharing the burden, _and_ your feelings with us, Ruby. You keep stuff bottled up, and it's eventually going to explode. I'm always here, whenever you need me. So is Ren."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed as she began to walk once again. "I'll try. Thanks, Nora. Let's head back and settle down."

"Sounds good to me," Nora replied. "After all… things are getting easier, if you think about it. What's the worst that could happen?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Sorry for the delay- it's been a rough two weeks. Aiming for Chapter 70 this weekend.

 **-RD**


	70. Whatever the Cost

Cinnamon kept her eyes closed as she felt the burning sensation of rubbing alcohol rushing into the gaping hole upon her arm. Her lip upturned slightly as she fought back the urge to hiss in pain as the antiseptic bubbled and frothed around the edges of the wound.

"You don't have to keep it in around me, Cin," the man holding the rapidly emptying bottle above her injury said softly. "They wouldn't dare approach us after seeing that little encounter."

Cinnamon exhaled harshly through her nose and shook her head, before finally opening her eyes. The man before her looked exactly as she remembered him from their last encounter, though he was wearing considerably more clothing than during that particular event. His hair was a deep red and styled into a series of messy spikes, and his eyes were of a thoughtful and innocent emerald green. He wore a black jacket and mesh top underneath, equally dark pants, and a red sash at his waist to match his hair. A long, muscular, dark orange and black-spotted scaled tail extended from the back of his waist and curled slightly as about two feet of the appendage rested upon the dirt floor of the tent. The extra limb was thicker than the man's legs, and she knew it to be incredibly heavy.

"Daisuke," Cinnamon began in a weary voice, " _you_ don't have to keep fawning over me and looking heartbroken every time I suffer a scratch. I'm a big girl, and I can handle myself. I'm _letting_ you pamper me just to keep you from worrying yourself into a literal sweat."

Daisuke placed the half-empty bottle onto the desk beside Cinnamon and worked to gently rub at the woman's arm muscles as he tilted his head slightly downward in shame.

"I know, I know, but… there's more to this than physical pain, and you cannot tell me otherwise. I _know_ you, and I know when you're not okay. Adam lies dead, and we no longer have to tiptoe and pretend to only be associates. Is that not cause for happiness?" Daisuke questioned as he let one of his hands slip down into Cinnamon's. She took his fingers in hers and offered him a conflicted frown.

"It is, yes, but… it came at a massive cost," Cinnamon offered. She fell silent for several moments, and Daisuke waited patiently as he rubbed at the back of her hand with his thumb. "He failed to kill the Schnee girl, and though I always knew it was likely to happen… I lost Amitola entirely, and that stings more than I anticipated it would."

Daisuke made a pained noise as he breathed out and moved in closer to Cinnamon. The woman didn't fight him as he looped his arms around her back and pulled her into a tight hug. After several seconds, she leaned forward from her place upon a wooden stool beside the desk and returned the gesture.

"…the lines have been drawn, it seems. I'm sorry that you need to suffer through so much personal pain for the sake of the Fang… but the fact that you're willing to keep going is what makes you twice the leader Adam ever was, already," Daisuke reassured as he pulled back slightly to look at his companion with pity. His eyes closed rather quickly as Cinnamon chased his motion and planted her lips to his in a passionate kiss. The woman moved a hand up to the back of Daisuke's head as the gesture deepened, and then rested her forehead against his as she sighed softly.

"And the fact that you were willing to play along while Adam was still alive makes you a man better than any other I've ever known, and one I honestly don't deserve. I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am that _you_ had to suffer through all of _that_ ," Cinnamon admitted.

"It… wasn't easy," Daisuke replied as he momentarily looked away, only to lock his eyes on Cinnamon's fierce orange pair seconds later. "But I love you. Getting as close as you did to him was necessary. Without that, we wouldn't be in the position we are now, to start making our next move."

"No, we wouldn't be," Cinnamon agreed as she dipped in for another kiss, only to let her hands slip from Daisuke's back as she folded them into her lap. "And I love you, as well."

Daisuke let his own embrace fall as he reached for a roll of gauze atop the nearby desk with a satisfied smile.

"So… what _is_ our next move?"

"…one even more unpleasant than I thought it would be," Cinnamon said as she watched Daisuke begin to work at wrapping her arm in gauze. His motions stopped immediately, and she could feel his expression falling into sadness once again. Cinnamon refused to look up, as she didn't think she could handle what she knew she would see.

"…you're leaving again," Daisuke said with full confidence as he shook his head. "You've only just returned, and we can only just now be together in earnest, and you're leaving again."

"I'm doing what I _must_ for our people," Cinnamon insisted in a harsh tone as she looked up. She found exactly the hurt expression she expected in her lover's face and couldn't stop herself from mirroring it with her own. "Daisuke, I'm _sorry_ , but things have changed just now with this attack on our camp, a-"

Daisuke raised a hand as he looked away, and Cinnamon fell silent. Slowly, he let it drop and returned to bandaging Cinnamon's wound as he spoke once again.

"I already know. I'm not going to question you, and I'm not going to complain. I _can't_ , when I know why you're doing this- it's because you _believe_ in what we're doing with all of your heart. We both knew that leading the White Fang would come with sacrifice, and I knew that committing myself to you wouldn't be easy. I just… wish it was a little easier, for both of us," Daisuke admitted as he applied two metal clamps to the gauze to seal off the wrapping. "I'll be here waiting, and doing whatever you need me to do, in the meantime."

"It shouldn't be like this," Cinnamon said in a voice devoid of all passion as she inspected her arm. "You deserve better. We both do."

"Since when does _anyone_ ever get what they deserve?" Daisuke asked plainly. "When will you be back?"

"A few days, I think," Cinnamon answered as she stood up and flexed her arm. "I wasn't planning on it, but I need to make a trip to Kuo Kuana."

"Kuo Kuana?" Daisuke echoed as he raised a brow. "Why there? Recruiting again, o-"

"No," Cinnamon interrupted as she stretched each of her arms by pulling them across her chest and then rolling her shoulders. "It's… a very, _very_ long story, but I'll tell you everything once I return. Time is of the essence right now, and I want to be there by morning if at all possible."

"I'm sure you will be," Daisuke offered as Cinnamon approached him once again. "Best of luck. I'll be thinking of you."

Cinnamon upturned her head slightly to lock Daisuke into another kiss, before breaking away.

"And I'll do the same. Hold down the fort, while I'm away. It seems you've been doing a wonderful job at it thus far, but just make sure that that Tyrian individual is _heavily_ guarded," Cinnamon warned.

"Of course. Don't let me keep you any longer. We'll have plenty of time to talk once you get back home," Daisuke offered.

Cinnamon spared the man one last, contemplative look for a few seconds before offering him a sad smile. She walked out of the tent without another word, and Daisuke watched her go with a forced smile of his own. Almost immediately after Cinnamon left, he walked to the center of the tent and braced his hands on either side of the desk as he hung his head and heaved a sorrowful sigh.

* * *

"So, two rooms, right? Otherwise, you might find Mr. Suave over here humping your leg in the middle of the night."

"Two rooms," Blake agreed as she followed Amaya down the upstairs hallway of the inn.

"I'm not even dignifying that with a response," Neptune added as he shook his head and took another sip of his apple juice. "I've been nothing but nice to you, and I would _never_ touch Blake like that."

"That was a response, dumbass," Amaya sassed as she shoved a door about halfway down the hall and let it fly open into the wall of the waiting room. "And you'll need two more for Kali and Qrow? Or are they sharing?"

"Two more," Blake replied quickly. "It's not like that."

"Gotcha," Amaya answered as she stepped aside and nodded toward Neptune. "Take the one next to this. No charge for any of you, and if you need anything, just poke your head into the stairwell and yell. I'm usually downstairs. Anything you can think of right now?"

"I hate to ask, but there is… _one_ thing," Blake said as she raised a finger. "We don't exactly have spare clothing at the moment. Is there anything I could borrow from you, just for tonight and tomorrow, until we get the chance to go shopping?"

Amaya snorted with laughter and flashed the other faunus a devilish grin. "Yeah, sure, but my tits are _way_ bigger than yours. As long as you don't mind it being baggy, I'll find something."

"I don't mind at all," Blake offered with a nervous grin. "Thank you again, really. We'll find a way to make this up to you."

"Pff," Amaya replied with a wave of her hand. "Whatever. I'll go get you something."

Blake nodded and turned her attentions to Neptune, who was busy draining his glass. "I'll come by your room in 20, once I take a shower and change, alright?"

"Yeah, sure," Neptune replied in a defeated tone as he raised his empty glass. "See you soon."

The boy watched sorrowfully as Blake closed the door, only to jump as Amaya snapped just to the side of his face.

"Hey. Loverboy," the older woman said as she put her hands on her hips. "Don't look so crestfallen. I mess with _everyone_ who walks through these doors, and if Blake had any other last name, she'd be getting it worse than you."

"Really?" Neptune asked with obvious surprise. "So I didn't blow it by hitting on you?"

Amaya rolled her eyes and huffed, before shaking her head and causing her mismatched locks to shake wildly.

"Oh, I _love_ the attention, honestly. You're just an easy target, because your confidence is paper thin. You don't have much luck with women, do you?" Amaya questioned as she tilted her head.

Neptune hissed as he sucked in a breath and looked down at the shorter woman as though she was carrying some sort of disease.

"I… _fine_. No, I don't," he admitted with a groan.

"That's because a cute face and charming smile can only get you so far. You've got a good head on your shoulders, otherwise you wouldn't be supporting Blake at great personal risk," Amaya pointed out as she lightly pushed a finger into Neptune's forehead. "Use more of _this_ , and less of _this,_ " she instructed as she transitioned her hand down to grab Neptune's crotch.

The boy froze up with wide eyes at the contact and didn't resist as Amaya used her other hand to take the empty glass from him.

"I… u-uh, I don't…"

Amaya released her grip, and finally pressed her finger to Neptune's lips to silence him.

"Like I said- more brain, less balls on display. Intelligence is sexy, and you've got looks going for you. Pair 'em, be honest, and realize that you don't _have_ to make a move all the time. Maybe try letting people come to you. Right now, vomiting the horny trash on your mind is just off-putting. Save that for when someone shows interest, and stop initiating so often," Amaya advised as she patted Neptune on the shoulder. "If you stop trying so hard to get your dick wet, it just might happen. Sometimes, it's nice to just _get to know_ a girl before you make an ass of yourself. Got all that?"

"I… yeah, I think so," Neptune replied with a nod. "Thanks for the advice."

Amaya merely nodded and began to make her way down the hall. Neptune watched for several seconds, before cupping a hand around his mouth and calling out.

" _Hey, Amaya!_ "

The woman turned her head slightly as she stopped walking, though all Neptune could see was a curtain of purple and crimson hair.

"…can we maybe start over, tomorrow? You know, get to know each other a bit _without_ me being a moron?"

Neptune let his hand drop as he watched Amaya's head turn once again while she resumed walking.

"Whatever makes you happy, kid. And stop staring at my ass!"

Neptune's cheeks flushed as he followed the request and rubbed at his neck.

"…it _is_ a nice ass, though," Neptune mumbled quietly to himself as he stepped into his room. The place was relatively bare save for a bed made with dark red sheets, a desk and matching chair, a corner lamp, and attached bathroom. Neptune moved to sit upon the bed and occupied himself with replaying Amaya's words in his mind until a knock came upon the door sometime later.

" _It's me!_ " Blake called through the wicker portal.

"Come in!" Neptune advised.

Blake entered the room wearing an overlarge black t-shirt with 'EAT ME' written upon it in dark red text and a black skirt that reached only just above her knees. Neptune fought back the urge to laugh despite his sour mood and took out his scroll as he allowed himself a half-smile.

"…she's definitely got a personality," the boy pointed out as he began to filter through his texts.

"Among other assets," Blake agreed as she sat down beside Neptune. "Are you okay…?"

"I'm fine," Neptune reassured quickly as he spared Blake a look. He returned his attention to his scroll with just as much speed and cleared his throat. "I've got something for you. Y'know, the gift from Sun?"

"Right," Blake replied as she folded her hands in her lap. "I've been wondering about what it could be, honestly. Is it as dorky and endearing as I'm hoping?"

" _Way_ worse," Neptune warned with a full grin as he cleared his throat upon finding what he was looking for. "A certain someone wrote down a list of things to read to you every night before bed upon our arrival in Kuo Kuana, for as long as you're apart."

Blake's cheeks immediately flushed scarlet, and she raised a hand to rub at and attempt to cover her embarrassing blush.

"He… did?" Blake asked as she failed to fight back a smile. "Neptune, you _really_ don't need to read those, it's the thought that counts, and it's going to be awkward and embarrassing for both o-"

"Nope," Neptune cut in as he wagged a finger. "I _promised_ I would, and I'm Sun's wingman. What kind of wingman would I be if I backed down from something this important?"

Blake took several breaths and ended with a long sigh as her ears twitched in anticipation. Finally, she nodded and gave Neptune her full attention.

"Okay. Ready as I'll ever be."

"…Night One," Neptune began before clearing his throat and returning his eyes back to the compiled text. "Blake- I already miss you more than words can say. I know being back here probably fills you with some pretty conflicted feelings, so I thought I'd remind you of some of the better memories we made along the way. Tonight's a simple one- our first kiss. You told me you wanted to throw caution to the wind and do our best to get to know each other on a deeper level after a series of some really rough events. After all this time, I think we've done that, and gotten to know ourselves a little better, too. Hopefully you remember it as clearly as I do, and you can fall asleep tonight replaying it in your mind. Also, Neptune, if you read this ahead of time and laughed about how lame it is, you suck. Hey, wait!"

Blake laughed lightly as her friend finished reading and closed her eyes as the memory played out in her mind as clearly as the day it had happened. A warm feeling rushed through her as she shrugged her shoulders, and then opened her eyes once again to regard Neptune with a furious blush.

"Neptune… _thank you_. You're incredible," Blake praised as she leaned into her friend's side and let her head fall upon his shoulder.

"Hey, whoa, _Sun's_ incredible, not me. I'm just the messenger," Neptune protested, only for Blake to shake her head as she sat up once again.

"You didn't _have_ to do this… but it definitely helps, and I appreciate it greatly. I… need to go and spend some time alone before I literally die of embarrassment, but… please, don't ever doubt yourself. You're a good man," Blake offered as she patted Neptune's free hand and slipped off the bed. "Goodnight."

"'night," Neptune called back with a shallow wave as he watched the door close behind Blake. Neptune flopped back onto the mattress with a heavy sigh and let his scroll drop to his chest while shaking his head.

"… _women_."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

For anyone wondering, no, the Volume 7 chapters won't be following a pattern in terms of perspectives- they've just fallen that way as of the last few. As of right now, it's looking like-

71: All Sun's crew

72: All Sun's crew again

73: Ruby's crew and Blake's

Also, the story is now kicked up to an M rating because Amaya.

 **-RD**


	71. Uninvited Guests

Weiss paused at the bottom of the staircase that led to the bowels of the boat and drew in several calming breaths as she kept her eyes closed. She tightened her grip around Myrtenaster as she steeled herself for the confrontation to come and opened her eyes once again as she began walking with a purposeful gait. After several tense seconds, she emerged into the shared bedroom that had become Corsac's holding cell.

Yang and Jaune were standing on either side of the room, their weapons at the ready, while Maria was sat upon one of the beds on the far wall, reading from some sort of journal. Corsac himself was sat upon the bed beside Maria's, and clad in a borrowed pair of black pants, a white sweater, and a towel that hung around his shoulders. The man was staring intently at the floor and didn't acknowledge Weiss' presence.

"…I'm here to relieve both of you," Weiss offered as she fixed Corsac with a neutral expression.

"Where's Ilia? Isn't she supposed to take this shift with you?" Yang asked as she pushed off the wall while keeping her arms folded.

"She's… _busy_ ," Weiss offered as she gave her friend a frustrated look. "I think it's best if she's left alone, for the moment."

"Then I'll stay," Jaune offered as he moved to sit upon one of the beds attached to a side wall. "Too many people on deck wouldn't be helpful, anyway."

Weiss shook her head and sighed, before turning her attention to Jaune.

"As much as the offer is appreciated… I'd like to talk to Corsac alone. If you'd like to remain by the door just in case, I won't stop you," Weiss offered.

"Just don't rough him up too much," Yang warned with a shrug as she made her way out into the hall. "If he's got any fresh wounds, the cops will think we've been torturing him."

"Weiss is smart," Jaune protested as he grabbed the bag protecting the relic from the bed and rose to stand. "I'll be just outside. Uh… Mrs. Calavera?"

Maria looked up from her book and the slatted coverings of her goggles narrowed in annoyance.

"Yes, yes, I heard. That being said, Schnee, I want to talk to you about something before we make landfall. You have a decision to make," the older woman insisted as she hoisted a black duffel bag up and over her shoulder and began to make her way out into the hall behind Jaune.

"A decision…?" Weiss inquired as she tilted her head, watching Maria walk all the while.

"You've got no excuse for bad hearing at your age, young lady. What are you, 14? 16?" Maria jabbed without bothering to look back.

"I am _18_ , thank you very much," Weiss replied with a sneer before closing the door to the room behind her antagonist. " _Honestly_."

The cabin fell silent as Weiss slowly turned to regard her captive. Corsac Albain sat silently, his eyes on the carpeted floor and devoid of any sort of emotion. Weiss merely frowned and kept her eyes on the man's forehead as she waited. After nearly a full minute, he began to speak in a voice far steadier than it had been upon being pulled out of the water.

"…I will answer anything you ask of me, Miss Schnee, but first, I would like to say that I can see now that you and Sun are _easily_ the lesser of two evils, compared to the Fang. You have both shown mercy where my former employers would not, and I am grateful, if undeserving," Corsac admitted as he finally dared to look up at Weiss. He found her eyes narrowed and full of a piercing, frigid judgment befitting of their color.

"…you were complicit in my attempted murder, were you not?" Weiss asked icily. "You were in that helicopter and aware of what Adam Taurus was about to try to do, weren't you?"

Corsac held Weiss' gaze, much to her surprise, and didn't hesitate in his answer.

"…I was, yes. I cannot and will not deny it."

"All I want to know is _why,_ " Weiss replied. "Explain to me how you rationalized that I, a woman you had never met in person, needed to be killed. I need to understand your thought process, for reasons I'm unwilling to discuss."

"I do not know if you'll be able to _understand_ , but I'll comply with your request to the best of my ability," Corsac began as he interlaced his fingers between his knees and looked back down to the carpet. "The faunus people are… _tired_ , more than anything else. Systematic oppression has worn many of us down into mere husks of people, and for some of us, all of our energy goes into simply finding the will to continue getting out of bed in the morning. When oppression and judgment permeate every facet of life, compassion, empathy, and even the ability to see those responsible as _people_ diminishes over time. The only emotion that some of us have room for anymore is anger, and that anger lashes out at whatever targets are readily available. The White Fang is an effort to render our chains white-hot with fury and sling them back at those who put them around us in the first place."

"So it didn't matter in the least that I have a life of my own, beyond my family name," Weiss said softly as she, too, cast her eyes down to the floor. "You were blinded to anything beyond what you thought was righteous anger."

"It mattered as much as my life matters to your family, beyond my tail," Corsac replied. "You were simply an _idea_ \- a symbol, until I had the opportunity to speak to you face to face. Adam had a way with words that was capable of convincing people to do things that they otherwise would not. He knew just which aspects of emotion within people to prey upon in order to get what he wanted. If you ask me… I can see a bit of those same qualities in Sun."

Weiss had to make a conscious effort to jerk her hand back to a neutral position as she found Myrtenaster beginning to rise for Corsac's throat automatically. She instead focused her anger on clenching her teeth, and then channeled her frustration into a tone so harsh that it surprised her.

"I _never_ want to hear you say such a thing about Sun in my presence. If you do it again, then I'll allow Ilia to vent _her_ frustrations on you," Weiss warned.

Corsac simply shook his head and sighed sadly. "I had a feeling you might react in such a way. I meant only to say that I see the capacity for strong leadership in that boy, and a charisma that could rally even the most hopeless hearts behind it. The comparison ends there- where Adam dragged others down to stew in hatred with him, it seems Sun has a gift for boosting others to heights that they would be otherwise incapable of reaching."

Weiss' upper lip twitched in annoyance as she stared once again at the top of Corsac's head.

"There were _other_ ways to make that point, and you know it."

"My apologies. I didn't mean to rile y-"

" _Weiss!_ "

The heiress barely had time to step out of the way of the cabin door as it swung inward to reveal a panicked Jaune. The boy's face was ghost white, and his shoulders were tense as he held the bag in one hand and his sword in the other.

"Jaune? What's going on?" Weiss questioned as she immediately raised her weapon into a more combative stance.

"It's… it's _grimm!_ A _huge_ grimm, tailing us! C'mon, we've gotta get to the upper deck and figure out a pl-"

Jaune became unbalanced and fell forward into the room as the boat lurched forward, picking up speed. Weiss took several steps backward as she tried to balance in her wedges, only to feel a pair of strong, calloused hands upon her waist keeping her upright. They released her immediately afterward, and she looked over her shoulder to see Corsac rising from his place upon the bed.

"My apologies, Miss Schnee. Go- I'll remain here, so as not to distract your friends or cause any worry," Corsac offered.

"You… _no!_ You're coming with us!" Weiss insisted as she ran over to help Jaune up. The boy took her hand and got to his feet, before hurriedly dusting himself off.

"You are sure…?" Corsac inquired, looking uneasy.

"Just listen to her and get moving!" Jaune insisted as he turned and ran out into the hall. Weiss and Corsac fell in line, and the trio made their way up to the deck in short order. Yang, Ilia, and Sun all stood armed and waiting as they stared toward the back of the boat, each looking horrified. Weiss backpedaled as she turned around, only to nearly drop Myrtenaster as she raised her free hand up to cover her mouth.

"By the _gods_ …"

A grimm leviathan, larger than any other beast the heiress had ever seen, had risen out of the water only a few hundred feet behind the speeding boat. The beast towered over the surface of the ocean shallows, to the point where its knees were clearly visible out of the water. What appeared to be flecks of ash on the glowing orange horizon began to cloud around the creature from all sides, until the silhouettes of beating wings made the figures known as other, smaller grimm.

" _Shit!_ " Sun swore before looking over his shoulder at the captain's cabin. "Maria, you're gonna need to speed it up!"

"I'm working on it, young man! Hold on to your tail!" Maria called as the front of the boat began to rise and dip as it cut through the water.

"What the hell do we _do!?_ " Ilia cried as she looked up at Sun. "We can't _fight_ that thing!"

" _They_ can!" Yang yelled as she turned, pointing up at the blockade of airships around Atlas. The shadow of the floating city engulfed the speeding vessel as the city of Mantle's port finally came into view. People were running back and forth upon the docks as sirens began to ring out through the cool morning air, and Weiss shook her head as she ran into the enclosure beside Maria.

" _Slow down!_ You're going to crash us right into the docks!" the heiress cried.

"That's the idea!" Maria countered with a wide grin. "Up and over, in about two minutes! They weren't about to just let us in without questions while _you're_ on board, after all!"

"I have a _disguise!_ " Weiss yelled incredulously.

"No time!" Maria admonished. "Leave the landing to me and keep a hand on a rail!"

Weiss opened her mouth to retort, only for Sun to beat her to the punch.

"Maria, pull up to a dock and let us get out _safely!_ Don't do anything insane! _We'll_ take care of that part. Yang, to the back with me! We've gotta shoot down as many fliers as we can!"

"You got it!" Yang affirmed as she broke into a sprint.

"Weiss- call your sister, and make sure Atlas knows what's going on!" Sun ordered, before pointing to the sides of the ship. "Jaune! Cover the left rail, and make sure nothing lands on board while _we're_ trying to land!"

"On it!" Jaune called as he dropped his bag and ran for the left side. Ilia pulled a face and shook her head as Sun gave her a sympathetic look.

"…Ilia…"

" _I know!_ " the girl yelled. "Broken arm, you want me safe, _whatever!_ The other side needs protection, a-"

"I'll go," Corsac offered as he held out his hand. "I know your weapon. Please- let this be the start of repaying my debt."

Ilia growled in frustration before she handed her weapon to Corsac and retreated into the captain's enclosure. Sun sighed in relief and ran off to help Yang with firing projectiles, while Corsac sprinted for the side of the boat opposite Jaune.

" _Winter!_ " Weiss called as she held her scroll to the side of her face while keeping her eyes on the grimm leviathan. A sphinx careened toward the rear of the ship only to be riddled with bullets, and Weiss raised the volume of her voice over the gunfire. "Winter, can you hear me!?"

" _Weiss?_ " came the voice over the line. " _Weiss, what's going on? Why and how are you here? Wh-"_

"There's no time!" Weiss insisted. "There's a massive grimm approaching Mantle! A leviathan class, and it's not alone! We need air support!"

Weiss stumbled to the side as a rolling chair impacted her, and Maria fell off the furniture and into her side. The heiress instinctively grabbed the woman and held her to her side as she tried to keep her own balance.

"What are you doing!?" Maria called. "I would have been _fine!_ "

" _Shut up!_ " Ilia called as she took the controls of the ship with her good hand. "I'm docking us!"

" _Weiss!? Who are you talking to? Where a-"_

"By the port, facing Argus!" Weiss yelled as she tried to keep her balance while holding on to Maria's chair. "Send _everything you can!_ "

The heiress disconnected the call as the boat started to slow, just as a deafening hail of bullets began to fly from the dockside. Weiss and Ilia both instinctively ducked as the shrieks of grimm tore through the yellowing sky alongside the whizzing of hot lead and the sound of several pairs of heavy footfalls.

" _Everybody off!_ " Sun yelled as he made a beckoning motion. The boy ran up to a side rail just by the captain's enclosure as the boat gently impacted the brick wall just beyond the docks. "C'mon, get moving!"

Weiss gripped Maria's chair and pushed her toward the waiting faunus, who was busy helping Ilia over the railing and onto the waiting wooden pier.

"Get on stable ground as fast as you can and keep the people safe!" Sun ordered as Ilia and Yang made it over the railing and onto the docks. He nodded approval as he watched Jaune scoop up the bag with the relic and leap over the railing. "And you keep _that_ thing safe, too!"

Maria hoisted her duffel bag once again as she slipped beneath the railing and leapt down onto the docks with Corsac in tow. Weiss followed and barely kept her balance as she hit the wood, and then Sun brought up the rear, whirling and firing off a shot into the air as he landed upon the dock.

"Sun! What's the plan!?" Weiss called as the group began to run down the wooden pier and toward the city of Mantle.

"The plan?" Sun asked as he fired another shot, clipping the wing of a nearby sphinx and sending it barreling down into the nearby brick wall. "We get up onto the ground, and we _fight!_ "

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Next update will be early next week, most likely.

 **-RD**


	72. Risk Assessment

Sun brought up the rear of the party as he walked backward, whirling his nunchaku and firing off several rounds for incoming sphinxes in the process. As his heel lightly bumped into a set of stone stairs, he looked over his shoulder and turned to quickly ascend and stand before his assembled team. A cluster of roughly twenty armed men and women including security officials and dock workers took place beside them and opened fire at the grimm as Sun paused his assault to speak.

"Alright, people!" Sun yelled as he swept his eyes over the party. "We've got a bunch of objectives! One- keep everyone safe! Two- watch each other's backs! Three! I need someone to run the r-… the bag deeper into the city, somewhere safe!"

"Leave it to me," Ilia offered as she held out her free arm toward Jaune. "I can cloak myself and go somewhere far away from any grimm."

"Wait!" Weiss called out as the bag was transferred into the faunus' hand. "It… remember what it _does_. What _Maria_ told us it does," Weiss added icily as she locked eyes with Ilia. "We need someone who can fight to transport it, in case the worst happens."

"Then let me go with her," Yang offered as she cocked her gauntlets. "None of us should be alone anyway."

"I know of a safe place," Maria added as she raised a hand. "An old friend who can keep it, _and_ us safe, in a pinch."

"Then the three of us can go together," Ilia replied as she secured the duffel bag over her shoulder and gripped the strap. "Maria and I are just in the way, otherwise, and Yang can be our bodyguard. We don't have time for debates!"

"Okay, then!" Sun agreed. "Get moving, and good luck! Weiss and Jaune! Head farther left down the docks and stand your ground! Corsac, you and I will defend this section of the dock!"

Ilia and her crew took off running into the streets of Mantle as Weiss and Jaune simply offered a pair of nods and made their way off to the neighboring dock at a sprint.

"You're doing a remarkable job keeping your cool thus far, Wukong," Corsac complimented as he cracked Ilia's electrified whip against the stone while staring down the oncoming swarm of sphinxes. "Again, Adam was wr-"

"If you're running with us, then shut up about Adam!" Sun snapped as he rejoined his staff into a single piece and whirled it behind his back in a ready stance. "Let the past go, and focus on the now!"

"'Running with you?'" Corsac questioned as he watched the dawn sky darken even more with an ever-growing cloud of grimm on the horizon. "I'm your prisoner."

"Yeah, I dunno, at this point," Sun replied as he narrowed his eyes at the encroaching enemies. "Puttin' yourself out here like this when you've got the perfect opportunity to cut and run? There's gonna have to be a discussion about what to do with you once this is all over."

Corsac let out a singular, humorless laugh as he leveled his weapon toward the sky and shook his head.

" _So_ naïve…"

* * *

Jaune instinctively ducked and raised his shield as a sphinx flew overhead and extended a fierce swipe downward for his head. The boy raked the sky with Corcea Mors and split the beast's chest open, eliciting a scream and subsequent rain of ash as the grimm seemingly evaporated before it hit the ground.

"Y'know, I've had a question for you for a while!" Jaune called as he looked to the side, where Weiss had summoned her Arma Gigas. The summon and summoner fought back to back as sphinxes swirled around them, each moving and coordinating their blows as though they were sharing a brain.

"What's that?" Weiss replied as she spun and drew two fingers along the flat of Myrtenaster's blade to summon up a rotating glyph. A torrent of fireballs flew through the air and downed several flying grimm into the waves and dockside wall.

"How do you fight in heels? I could barely _walk_ in them!" Jaune cried as he dove in front of a vulnerable dock worker, using his shield to deflect a divebomb from a sphinx. The man thanked the teen profusely as Jaune rose back up to his feet and readied his sword once again. He cracked a small smile as he heard Weiss' characteristic noise of disgust and didn't bother to look over to her as he kept his eyes on the next target.

" _Really?_ Is now the time?" Weiss asked rhetorically. "Also, these are wedges. Additionally- when and _why_ have _you_ worn high heels? Do I even want the answer to that question?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already?" Jaune asked as he spared her a quick glance. "The dance, back at Beacon!"

Weiss echoed the boy's smile as she shook her head, before blasting another flier with shards of ice from her floating glyph.

" _Right_. That seems like ages ago, and yet… almost yesterday," Weiss mused. "Pyrrha was so h-"

The heiress stopped herself immediately and punctuated the pause with thrusting Myrtenaster through the chest of a sphinx, which dissipated to ash in midair atop her blade. She slowly turned to face Jaune, and found that his smile was somehow still present, though tense.

"Jaune, I am _so_ s-"

"No," the boy interrupted as he used his shield to block several swipes from a sphinx that had taken an interest in him. He thrust the shield outward to unbalance the beast before lopping off its head, and turning his attention to Weiss, instead. "It's not taboo anymore. Sun and I talked, and I'm working through it. Not quite there yet, but… I'm making an effort. It's time I started living for myself. Right now, what I want is to protect these people, and keep my nerve up by bantering with you."

Weiss felt an odd sense of pride as she dropped her guard ever so slightly to give Jaune a small smile.

"Then banter we shall," she confirmed as she raised her weapon once again. "I just hope my sister got the word out, and Atlas is mobilizing against _that_ thing. Otherwise, we may not be able to protect these people for long at all…"

Jaune bit his lip as he stared up at the grimm leviathan. The beast was still several hundred feet out to sea and walking slowly through the shallows as it approached the floating city.

"She'll get it done," Jaune resolved as he steeled himself into a combat stance once again. "She's one of us, right? I believe in us."

"As do I," Weiss confirmed as she and her Arma Gigas joined Jaune's side in ready stances of their own.

* * *

" _Point me!_ " Ilia cried as she kept up her sprint. Her injured arm rocked wildly within its sling as she ran, her chest heaving and forehead sweaty.

" _Left!_ " Maria cried from her place in Yang's arms as they reach an intersection. She held her black duffel bag in her own arms, and Yang grunted with effort as she skidded slightly along the cobblestone before beginning to run after Ilia once again.

"You know, I can't decide whether I love or hate you, overall," Yang commented as she shifted her grip upon the smaller woman.

"Young lady, do you know how many times I've heard those exact words from an ex?" Maria quipped. "It's all part of my charm."

"Give us directions _before_ the turn, next time!" Yang griped as she took off at a hard run. She watched as Ilia spun into an alleyway and shifted her colors to blend into the wall as a manticore flew over the nearby streets and began to circle. The dust-powered lamp posts in the area flickered their lights to red one by one as sirens began to sound, and Yang put Maria down without hesitation as she cocked her gauntlets once again.

" _Really?_ We're not far from where we need to be!" the older woman complained. "Security forces will be here soon, and we can just slip aw-"

" _No_ ," Yang said authoritatively as the manticore caught sight of her. The beast screeched a deafening call as civilians began to scatter in all directions, causing Yang's coattails to billow behind her. "I'm a _huntress_. I'm not letting that thing run wild on Mantle and its people."

"Suit yourself," Maria shrugged. "I'll wait here with Ilia. Go get 'em, spitfire."

"Spitfire," Yang repeated while she punched her fists together as the manticore hovered menacingly above her, surrounded by a flittering escort of five sphinxes. "I like that."

Ilia hissed through her teeth as Maria joined her side in the alleyway. She stared out into the road as three sphinxes landed and charged for Yang, only for the blonde girl to launch into a frenzied assault of punches.

"Hey, how do you know if a broken arm is healed?" the chameleon faunus inquired as she shifted her skin tone back to its natural brown.

"…worried, are you?" Maria asked as the slats on her goggles narrowed. "It takes a _long_ time to fully mend, child, but the limb is generally usable again in a few weeks. If you want to go out there, I'm not about to stop you."

Ilia narrowed her eyes as she watched the fight continue, her mind racing.

"…Sun'll kill me," she seethed through clenched teeth.

"And if the grimm kill _her?_ " Maria questioned. "More will be coming, and soon. Do what you think is right. I can watch the relic, if you want to mix it up. Keep in mind, though- you have no weapon."

"I don't need one," Ilia protested. "Not with a semblance like mine."

Yang let out an almost feral yell as she careened a fist into the side of a sphinx's jaw. The girl triggered a shotgun blast on impact, and the beast's mandible tore clean off its face before its entire body fizzled out into an ashen cloud. Where the sphinx fell, two more landed, only for Yang to let out a low growl as she threw her arms down to her sides and balled her fists.

" _Yeah!?_ Well, come on, then! I've been looking for an outlet all week!"

The catlike pair of grimm bounded toward the girl, only for the beast on the left to leap over its partner and attempt a lunging bite. Yang dipped to one side and rose into a forceful uppercut, firing off a backward shell as she did so to rise into the air with the blow. She grabbed the side of her gauntlet and let forth a full-on blast of every round in the bracer straight into the beast's face, only to catch a hard swipe from an unseen attacker at her back. Yang went down hard and rolled along the ground, her aura flickering as she slid to a stop.

"Ugh! _Cheap shot!_ " the girl complained as she punched the cobblestone and rose to her feet in a boxing stance. Three more sphinxes had landed in the street, and from the cries overhead, Yang guessed that more were on the way. The girl spit down onto the street and ran a quick thumb across her nose, before hunkering down into a deeper stance.

"C'mon! I've handled worse!" Yang yelled, before running forward. The beasts split off and worked to surround her as she once again worked herself into a frenzy. Yang turned and fired off shots to scare off a sphinx as it tried to encroach upon her from the back, only for the monster to backpedal out of range. "Not gonna work a second time, dumbass!"

Yang narrowed her eyes as she heard a scrabbling of claws on the stone behind her and whirled into a spinning backfist to catch another sphinx making an attempt at a similar move across the jaw. The assailant flew sideways and into a Schnee Dust Company shop window, shattering the glass of the storefront. Yang had only a moment to smirk as a bright orange glow became overpowering in the sky to her left, and she looked up just in time to see where the manticore at the head of the pack had moved to.

The massive flying grimm had moved just out of Yang's sight line to charge up a gargantuan fireball in its mouth, beating its wings all the while. Without giving her a second to react, the manticore spit forth the giant ball of flames, and the projectile sped downward toward its prey in a swirling, superheated ball. Yang raised her arms to block as best she could and closed her eyes, expecting the projectile to easily tear through her aura and likely leave her burned. Instead, she felt absolutely nothing bar the errant heat of stray embers scattering around her.

Yang opened her eyes and blinked in confusion at the sight before her. Just in front of her stood Ilia- or rather, what appeared to be a _statue_ of Ilia. The cobblestone around the girl had been stripped right off the street and seemed to be coating her skin, giving her the appearance of a sculpture as she stood with her good arm out before herself. Slowly, she began to move, flecks of rock dislodging and falling lightly to the ground as she shifted in place and cracked her stony neck.

"I'm not letting you take them on alone," Ilia declared as all of the stolen stone dropped from her skin to join its brethren upon the ground.

"But your arm…" Yang protested softly, only for Ilia to shake her head as she calmly walked over to the shattered window. The faunus knelt and scooped up a ruby red dust crystal in her previously injured limb, her sling no longer anywhere in sight.

"I don't care. This is too important, and I'm _probably_ alright, now," Ilia offered as she closed her fist around the hexagonal prism. Suddenly, her entire body became transparent and then enwreathed in flame, to the point where Ilia herself seemed to become a swirling, girl-shaped vortex of fire. She pointed upward toward the manticore and offered Yang a confident grin. "Now, let's take it down together!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Next update will be much sooner than last time. Sorry for the delay- the last week was rough, for many reasons. I'll try to do better with updates in the future. I'm also splitting this battle for Mantle into two chapters, instead of making one giant one. See you all soon.

 **-RD**


	73. Double or Nothing

Sun revolved twice in midair, his sectioned staff wrapped around himself as he spun. Just as he landed, he lashed the weapon out in a wide, sweeping blow with devastating force. The staff let out a thunderous _crack_ as it impacted the neck of a sphinx, sending the beast down to the ground and causing it to evaporate instantly. Sun landed in a low stance, his staff snapping back together into a singular, rigid piece as he braced his free hand into the dirt below. Corsac swept Ilia's electrified whip in a wide arc over the boy's body, stunning two other sphinxes and leaving them open. Sun tucked into a forward roll and broke his weapon down into a set of twin pistols before firing off shots behind himself, piercing the skulls of both beasts in tandem.

"Well fought," Corsac offered as he snapped his borrowed weapon back into a straight rod. Sun rose to standing and dusted off his deep purple dress shirt before engaging Ghira's gauntlet to let the armored plates snake down and over his left arm and hand.

"You too, man. I just hope the guys up top are focusing on the big boy out there. Only so much we can do by controlling the fliers by the shore," Sun pointed out.

The grimm leviathan had inched closer to the city and was standing barely a hundred feet out into the water. As if on cue, a volley of missiles flew from the airships high above as they slowly maneuvered into view. The deadly projectiles crashed into the leviathan's chest and neck, eliciting a cheer from the fighters on the ground, Sun included. The boy pumped his fist into the air and did a small hop, while Corsac merely allowed himself a subdued smirk.

" _Alright!_ I knew Weiss' sis would come through!" Sun yelled.

"Don't get complacent just yet," an unfamiliar, feminine voice called out from behind. "Maintaining advantage on the ground is just as important as taking that thing down."

Sun and Corsac turned together to find a woman clearly older than Academy age, though perhaps not by much. Her pale blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and her violet eyes held a deep, determined expression. Upon one of her arms was what appeared to be a crossbow stylized as a steel eagle mounted atop a bracer. Two other women with matching staves- a faunus with tousled white hair and sheep's ears, and a human woman with long blue hair- stood at the woman's sides, looking equally serious.

"Right on," Sun replied with a nod. "Let's refocus and push them back!"

Sun's encouragement was quickly followed up by the grimm leviathan opening its mouth and firing a sparkling, yellow laser toward the docks. The beam cut through the water as the beast swept its head back and forth, causing wide sprays of heated mist to fly up into the air. The assembled fighters at the docks quickly backpedaled to put distance between themselves and the surprise assault, only for another volley of missiles to interrupt the deadly beam. The grimm leviathan let out another deafening roar as several more Atlesian ships crested the edge of the floating city and suddenly came into view from the ground.

"Change of plans!" the blonde woman yelled before turning toward the blue-haired woman next to her. "May! Cloak yourself and all of the civilians and get them out of here! You two!" she continued, while nodding toward Sun and Corsac. "Are you willing to fight and hold back the tide of lesser grimm?"

"Born ready," Sun affirmed with a nod.

"I stand with him," Corsac added as several men in white armor walked up, carrying assault weapons.

"Miss Hill!" the man at the front called. "We're here to provide fire support!"

"Alright," the woman said with a nod before turning to face the sea again, where the numbers of the sphinxes had thinned and more missiles were flying. "Everyone, bring down as many grimm as you can!"

* * *

Yang threw out a hand, eyes wide as she watched her companion run straight toward the manticore's open maw without a care in the world.

" _Ilia!_ "

The chameleon faunus didn't reply as the massive beast lunged forward with a powerful bite, only for its jaws to clamp shut around where the girl once was. Instead, it received a mouthful of flames for its efforts, and the embers traveled to either side of its face before reconvening on the giant grimm's back. The manticore's fur burst into flames as the swirling, burning specter of Ilia grabbed hold of its fur and yanked its head back to expose its neck.

" _Now!_ "

Yang wasted no time in running forward and beginning to pummel the throat of the screaming horror. Her fists crashed into the soft tissue of the leading grimm's throat as she began to yell, working herself into a merciless fury. With one final punch punctuated by a deafening shotgun blast, she tore a hole through the grimm's throat and caused it to dissipate rapidly from head to tail. Ilia fell to the ground as her grip upon the beast was lost, and the embers within her body scattered off to the sides as she regained her normal skin.

"That… was _awesome_ ," Yang complimented with a wide grin as she took up a fighting stance once again. Ilia raised her fists and pressed her back to Yang's as the lesser grimm encircling them kept their distance, showing signs of hesitance. "How's your arm feelin'?"

"Sore," Ilia admitted. "And my aura's half burned out after those two stunts. I'm also unarmed, so we need to be careful. I can't blow my entire load and risk taking a real hit."

"You did good, and saved my ass," Yang reminded. "Take it easy for a minute and distract them. I'll clean up here. These little ones aren't really much tr-"

Another deafening screech cut off Yang's words, and the blonde's face paled as she recognized the characteristic call of another manticore. She looked up to see a pair of manticores circling overhead, before a third flew in low over the rooftops of the nearby apartment block.

"You have _got_ to be shitting me," Ilia cursed under her breath. "Yang, we need to run…"

"I know," the girl agreed as the circling pair of manticores landed on opposite rooftops and leered down at the girls. The third took off in another direction, hovering just above the streets as it began scouring the area for more potential victims. "Take the relic, cloak yourself, and _go_."

"I'm not leaving you!" Ilia insisted. "We didn't make it this far just to fail!"

"Then what's your idea? Fight? Pray for backup?" Yang questioned as the ring of sphinxes began to move closer.

"…yeah. Yeah, that sounds about right, at this point," Ilia confessed as she stomped forward into the cobblestone and jerked her head, trying to intimidate one of the encroaching sphinxes. The move worked, only for the manticore closest to her to leap off the roof in the second she was unbalanced.

" ** _STAY!_** "

Ilia slipped as she tried to dodge to the side, her leg scraping along the cobblestone as she twitched in surprise at the booming, almost divine masculine voice that had seemed to come from all directions at once. The manticore almost froze to hang in midair, falling at an impossibly slow speed as its claws flexed and splayed, clearly aimed for the girl. The sphinxes near Yang had also started to move in, only to slow to a similarly pathetic crawl.

"What… the hell…?" Yang said slowly as she looked around in confusion. Ilia dragged herself back up into a standing position as she looked left and right, only for a speeding, bladed boomerang to slice through the air with a shrieking _whirr_ just above her head. The device flew up and wedged into the manticore's mouth faster than the grimm could react, and the girls watched as it reflexively bit down in slow motion, the bladed ends of the weapon beginning to pierce its palate and lower jaw.

" _Incoming!_ " called another familiar, though far higher and more feminine voice from the rooftops. "Hold them just a second more!"

"You got it, Hare!" came the reply from the first stranger, though his voice lacked the echoing, authoritative quality that it had had during his initial yell. Ilia and Yang finally caught sight of the figure- a dark-skinned, black-haired, dog-tailed faunus seemingly in his mid-twenties stood atop a nearby balcony, his finger pointed firmly at the slowed manticore. "Hurry, though!"

" _Harriet!_ " the woman corrected as she came into view over the edge of a nearby rooftop. Just like her companion, she wore a uniform primarily white in color, with swatches of dark blue patterned into the skintight fabric. Her hair was a short, buzzed, brown mohawk that matched her skin tone, with tufts of blonde hair spiked up in the front. "And you know I always do!"

The woman named Harriet kicked hard off the edge of the roof and tucked into a midair roll as mechanical full-length gloves sprouted from a device upon her back. The weaponry clasped to her arms and hands as she extended them during her fall, and she crashed her right fist down onto the skull of a time-stopped sphinx as she landed. Immediately upon making contact with the ground, the woman began to run a wild circuit around the collection of grimm, throwing hard punches as she left a trail of crackling lightning in her wake.

"Y-you good?" the man upon the balcony called, his arm visibly shaking with effort as he grit his teeth.

"Release! C'mon, girls, heads in the game!" Harriet called as she skidded to a stop, and time resumed its normal cadence for the captured grimm. The sphinxes affected by Harriet's punches reeled back and several knocked into each other, while the falling manticore closed its jaws around the thrown boomerang and collapsed in a heap before evaporating as it hit the street below.

Yang darted for a pair of confused sphinxes and began another series of quick blows against them. She cracked the skull of one of the grimm clean open before what appeared to be a bolt of lightning lanced through the other as Harriet slid along the ground, a mechanically-gloved hand scraping the cobblestone as she tried to slow herself down.

"There you go, press the advantage!" the woman yelled, only to pull herself up into a fighting stance and begin working over another pair of grimm.

Ilia backed off instinctively as she scanned the area for another useful surface to absorb with her semblance. She never got the chance as the owner of the masculine voice dropped from his balcony and landed just in front of her while offering a quick salute and charming smile.

"Hey there! You okay?" he asked, beads of sweat pouring from his hairline as he took greedy, labored breaths. Despite his obvious exhaustion, he had his chest puffed out, and was clearly trying to hide his condition.

"I'm _fine!_ " Ilia groused as she raised her shoulders defensively. "I'm just… unarmed, right now!"

The dog-tailed faunus snapped his fingers, and a green light flickered to life upon the surface of his boomerang. Almost instantly, the weapon sailed from its place within the pile of ash that was once a manticore and back into his raised hand.

"It's okay. We'll handle this quickly!" the man encouraged, only to whirl and point once again. " ** _STAY!_** "

The second, airborne manticore slowed greatly in mid-flap as it started in on a divebomb attack. Ilia watched in awe as Harriet took the echoing yell as a cue and ran up a nearby building, lightning trailing in behind her once again. The woman flipped backward off the brick surface as she neared the rooftop and landed atop the neck of the frozen beast, before throwing an impossibly fast volley of punches into the grimm's skull and shoulders.

The male of the duo dropped his hand as Harriet delivered one last, forceful punch to the back of the grimm's head, and it burst into a cloud of ash almost immediately. Harriet landed hard upon the ground in a runner's stance just as Yang fired off one final shotgun shell, causing the last sphinx in the area to dissipate.

"Who… _are_ you guys…?" Ilia questioned as she looked back and forth between her rescuers. Harriet moved to stand near her companion, who answered for her as she clapped an arm upon his back. The man gave her a weak smile, and she merely shook her head as she gave him a glare in return. The faunus looked away with a guilty grin and rubbed at the back of his head.

"Marrow Amin, and Harriet Bree," the man said with a winning smile that reminded Ilia just a bit too much of Neptune's for her liking. "We're members of the Ace Ops. Let's get you two to safety quickly. Harriet and I need to rendezvous with the others and continue to clear the streets of grimm."

"No dice," Yang denied as she threw an arm out to the side in a dismissive motion. "We'll help you fight. We've got friends in trouble, and we have business to attend to immediately after we help them out. Are you guys like cops or something?"

" _Cops?_ " Harriet repeated, seeming almost insulted as she dropped her hand from Marrow's back. "We report directly to General Ironwood, and _you_ two need to stay out of our way."

"If you report to Ironwood, then we need you to take us to him as soon as we're done here," Ilia insisted. "We have something we need to deliver to him that could be extremely important. Something from Haven Academy."

Harriet and Marrow exchanged unreadable looks, though it was clear that an entire conversation had occurred between them during the brief silence. Immediately afterward, Harriet nodded to another set of red lights down the street and cracked her knuckles.

"Save it for when we have the all clear. Follow along, and don't cause any trouble. And Marrow!"

"Yes ma'am?" Marrow replied as he stood straight, his face pouring sweat and shoulders shaking slightly.

"You overdid it again. We _will_ be having words after this," Harriet threatened as she turned and began to walk.

"Yes, ma'am…" Marrow replied in a defeated tone before falling in line to jog beside Harriet as she picked up speed.

Yang and Ilia exchanged uncertain looks of their own, before the faunus' heart skipped a beat as she turned to look down a nearby alleyway.

"Wait- where's Maria…?"

Yang froze in realization as she followed Ilia's gaze, and then shook her head.

"She said she knew safe place. Call her while we're on our way to the next wave. Let's go!" Yang suggested as she took off at a run. Ilia withdrew her scroll from her pocket and raised it to the side of her face as she began to run, feeling uneasy.

"Come on, old woman. Pick up…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Well, looks like the battle for Mantle will be _three_ chapters, instead of two. The conclusion will go up sometime on the weekend or Monday, and then it's back to Blake and Ruby's crews for a bit. As a sidenote- Joanna of the Happy Huntresses and Vine of the Ace Ops will _not_ be appearing in this story. Figured I should get that out of the way now, just to clear any confusion/let some people down gently. There's quite frankly no room for them here, and I don't really see the point in either character in canon. I don't see the point in Elm, either, but I at least feel like she gives me something to work with and build on. I can't stand Clover, so expect massive changes to him. See you all next time.

 **-RD**


	74. Heroes Gather

Weiss spun backward and drew her rapier up, holding it parallel to her cheek as she pointed the tip outward. She pressed hard into the cold steel at her back as she leaned into Jaune, sweaty and breathless.

"Hey," the boy said between his own gulps of air. "You doing okay?"

"Just fine," Weiss replied aggressively before clearing her throat. "Their numbers are thinning, but something just… doesn't feel right."

"I know what you mean," Jaune agreed. "Maybe all of the negativity in the air?"

"Maybe," Weiss pondered as she began to take count of the remaining sphinxes. A rattle of gunfire and barrage of missiles from the airships overhead drowned out her mental efforts in a din of explosions, and she shook her head to try to chase away her building headache.

"Still, it's…" Jaune paused as something in the water caught his eye. A series of bubbles began to froth upon the surface, the depths appearing dark instead of their usual pristine color. "Weiss? What's that?"

Weiss paused and eyed the water suspiciously, her stomach dropping at the familiar sight.

"That's… oh, no…"

The girl squeaked in surprise as a second back pressed to hers, followed by a whirling flourish of red and gold in her peripheral vision.

"Heya!" Sun chirped with a cheery grin, looking somehow even sweatier than his friends. "We got reinforcements over there, and Corsac's working with them. Figured I'd check in on you t-"

"Everyone get back!" Weiss yelled as she broke from formation. The two boys gave her quizzical looks, only for something odd, black, and twisted to break the surface of the water where bubbles had once been.

Sun's mouth hung open as he took in the sight of an entirely unfamiliar species of grimm. The horse-sized creature had the torso of a female human, her face and chest replaced by gleaming, sodden bone. Wispy strands of waterlogged hair hung all in her face and from her waist, where legs should have been. Without warning, the creature's tapered rear rose into the air as it arched its back and the hair fell away to reveal a long, snout-like mouth lined with rows of several eyes and entirely too many teeth. The creature's maw opened before it dove for Sun, the humanoid part of the grimm trailing behind it in midair. The faunus barely leapt out of the way in time, only for Weiss to let a crackling blast of electricity fly from one of her glyphs.

" _What the hell is that thing!?"_ Sun shouted as he skidded along the ground.

"A selkile!" Weiss yelled back as she concentrated to keep the beast paralyzed in place. "They live in deep waters all around Solitas! Quickly, stab the tail!"

"Which part's the tail!?" Jaune asked as he ran in, holding his sword aloft.

"The… the woman's head!" Weiss replied, only to watch Jaune sink his sword directly into the target. The long, toothy maw opened in a scream before the grimm dissolved in place, leaving all three teens in a breathless, horrified state.

"I… I've never seen one in person," Weiss commented as she used a hand to wipe her sweaty bangs from her face.

"You're about to see more!" Everyone, back!" Sun yelled as he pointed to the water, where more large bubbles were trailing near the surface.

Jaune steeled himself and took a deep breath as he watched a seemingly invisible shimmer pass by toward the streets of Mantle, only for a woman with a long blue ponytail to appear from the edge of the veil.

"Come on! This area is lost! Our defender will be here momentarily!"

"Defender?" Sun echoed. "We're holding the line! We can… we…"

The boy's shoulders sank as he watched more selkiles emerge from the water, numbering nearly a dozen. Weiss took several steps backward, and Jaune trailed closely behind while holding up his shield.

"Sun, I hate to break it to you, b-"

" _I know!_ " the faunus yelled as the blue-haired woman, and her veiled charges, disappeared from sight. "Group up with the others on the docks! We only fall back if we need to!"

Weiss let out an annoyed grunt as she began to run down the pier, the collection of grimm readying their heads as their humanoid parts began to scrabble along the ground to drag their massive bodies forward. Jaune followed as Sun backpedaled, firing shots into the false heads of the beasts as he went. Several crossbow bolts whizzed past Sun and found their marks in the tails of the grimm, eliciting screams as the crowd began to fan out and keep their distance.

"You're leading them to us," Corsac pointed out as the blonde woman beside him reloaded her arm-mounted crossbow. "Last stand?"

"Something like that!" Sun agreed as he took position with his friends and formed a wall. A selkile dived forward, only for the sheep-eared faunus to extend her arm and seemingly absorb the creature into her palm.

"…handy, as Yang would say," Weiss joked as she planted Myrtenaster into the ground and began summoning her Arma Gigas once again.

"The _one_ time you're actually funny, and it has to be _now!?_ " Jaune said with exasperation as he joined the vanguard, taking blows against his shield from the ravenous mass of grimm.

Sun shook his head as he focused on gunning down the remaining sphinxes that came to join the fray. His arms moved with lightning speed as he tracked his targets, working with the blonde woman to thin the crowd.

"Just… _focus_ , everyone! We can do this!"

A deafening roar from the approaching leviathan drowned out Weiss' reply, and Sun braced his arm over his face as a flash of brilliant green light leant an almost sickeningly neon tint to the surrounding area.

" _She's here!_ " the blonde woman with the arm-mounted crossbow yelled while pointing up to the sky. "Finally! Ground forces, listen to the faunus and hold the line! This is winnable!"

Jaune's jaw dropped as he followed the unfamiliar woman's outstretched arm. There in the sky was a floating, redheaded girl with green jets of flame emanating from ports on the soles of her feet. Her outfit had a green digital theme that seemed to blink and glow with blinding intensity even from the ground, and a circular cone of floating swords was rotating at high speed before her. From the center of the swords, a wide, concentrated beam of dazzling, emerald energy flew forth and focused in on the leviathan's face, giving the colossal beast pause in its advance.

" _Penny!_ " Jaune cried. "Guys, _look!_ "

Despite the situation, Weiss offered a wide grin in response as she beheld the floating girl with enthusiasm and admiration.

"I see her! That's incredible!"

"Yeah, it is!" Sun agreed before refocusing on the selkiles ahead. "If we were ever going to get a morale boost, I couldn't ask for one better! Let's do this, people!"

Sun whirled his pistols and reformed them into one long staff as he ran forward with Jaune at his side. The two boys waded into the fray as Weiss' Arma Gigas took up position beside them while the girl slung bolts of ice forward for cover fire. Sun cracked his staff harshly against the nearest selkile's woman-shaped tail, eliciting a cry of agony from the sodden grimm as it reeled backward. A boomerang flew into the fray from somewhere nearby and embedded itself into the grimm's massive mouth, before Harriet sprinted in and delivered a devastating uppercut beneath its jaw. The beast made it several feet into the air before dissolving into a cloud of ash.

"Alright!" Sun yelled while pumping his fist and watching Harriet slide into a crouched runner's stance. "No idea who you guys are, but thanks for the assist!"

"We're doing our jobs," Harriet replied coldly. "Focus, and do yours!"

The boomerang whizzed from its place upon the ground back into Marrow's grip, and the faunus offered the assembled defenders a wide grin.

"Looks to me like they're doing pretty alright! We're just here to help finish things!"

"Of _course_ they are!" a burly, tanned woman with short, choppy black hair yelled from her place behind Marrow as she approached the dog faunus' side. She whirled a massive hammer over her head in a circle before sinking down into a low stance and charging forward to engage a lone selkile. "After all, they're Ilia and Yang's friends! If those two are anything to go by, these kids will do great things!"

Sun perked up once again at his friend's names and allowed himself a quick glance to the side as he landed from a jumping kick into the side of a selkile's maw. There next to Marrow were Ilia and Yang, and all three began to move in tandem to join the frontline defenders.

"'sup?" Yang asked with a grin as she aimed a gauntlet and fired off a shotgun blast at a selkile limping behind Sun. The beast dissolved quickly, and Yang cocked her weapon before cracking her neck.

"Not much. Eyes on the sky for a sec," Sun replied with a confident smile. Yang looked upward and her facial expression changed to match his as she caught sight of their flying friend, who had redirected her beam into the center of the leviathan's chest.

" _Hell yeah!_ Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Yang called as she bashed her fists together. The blonde girl fired off two shells backward and propelled herself deeper into the crowd of selkiles, only to end up next to a whirling spout of water. A selkile bit cleanly through the swirling liquid, only for the water to seemingly jump to the side and reform into a transparent, light blue facsimile of Ilia. Yang used the opportunity to plant her metallic arm vertically between the grimm's jaws and fired off several shells into its throat with the other arm, only for the beast to burst into a cloud of ash.

" _Hot_ ," Ilia commented as she reformed into her usual body.

"I try," Yang said with a shrug as she readied her fists once again. "We've all been through worse."

"With worse people at our sides," Ilia added. "With the exception of one."

"I heard that," Corsac said flatly as he approached and offered Ilia her weapon. The girl took it and gave it a few lashes against the ground to test that it was still in working order. "Still, you are not wrong."

"Hey, you know your way around a sword?" came a friendly, male voice.

Corsac looked to his left to find another new arrival- a man dressed in colors much like Marrow and Harriet's, his outfit comprised of white, deep blue, and splashes of red. His hair was closely shorn and light brown, and his features were sculpted and rigid in contrast to his friendly, confident gaze. At his sides were twin broadswords with odd, rectangular protrusions on the ends of the hilts.

"Familiar enough," Corsac replied as the other man offered him one of the two weapons and took up a stance of his own. "My thanks."

"We're all in this together," the man replied as he drew his remaining sword. "Now let's finish this!"

Farther down the docks, Weiss and Jaune continued to fight side by side. The Arma Gigas cleaved cleanly through the last two sphinxes in the area, their bisected halves dropping and dissolving before they hit the ground. Jaune let out a triumphant yell as he bashed one of the last selkiles upon the snout using his shield, and then impaled it through the jaw only to let it break apart into ash.

"Excellent! You've improved so much since Beacon!" Weiss praised as she gracefully hopped backward, out of reach of another grimm's vicelike jaws. "There are less than ten to go!"

"And more than ten of us!" Jaune encouraged.

Another deafening screech drew attention from everyone on the docks, including the selkiles, as the sky flashed an assortment of reds, greens, and violent oranges. The Atlesian airships perched around the edge of the city fired their salvos of missiles directly at the leviathan, and the projectiles crashed into its chest one after another. The beast reeled backward, stomping through the water as it tried to maintain its balance. Penny flew forward as she disengaged her beam and watched as the leviathan finally fell back and began to dissolve. Mounds of ash flittered down through the air and began to pile onto the surface of the water, rendering the area past the docks inky black instead of its usual deep blue.

The remaining selkiles began a rapid retreat back into the water amid the cheers of the people assembled upon the docks. Sun leapt and pumped a fist in victory as the people around him rose their weapons, and Ilia had her arms around him almost before he hit the ground once again.

"We did it!" the girl said enthusiastically as she squeezed her friend tight.

"Yeah, we did!" Sun agreed as he ruffled the girl's damp, unkempt hair. "What about the… the _thing?_ Is it safe? Where's Maria?"

"Maria's fine," Ilia insisted. "And she's got the thing. She gave us an address, a-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, now," the brown-haired male said as he approached the pair, holding up a hand. Marrow, Harriet, and the other woman with the hammer assembled around him, forming an intimidating wall of muscles and high-tech weaponry. "No one's going anywhere until we have a little chat- after all, from what I've heard, it was _your_ ship that brought these grimm to Mantle along with it. Care to explain?"

"They were being chased," the blonde woman with the arm-mounted crossbow interrupted as she stepped up to Sun's side, her sheep-eared friend standing opposite of her. "May saw it. She was at the docks when they arrived. This isn't their fault! Talk to them all you want, but don't treat them as hostiles! They're _helping_ Mantle!"

"Be that as it may," the man replied, "we _will_ need an official report about what happened here. We haven't seen selkiles in Mantle in ages, and the people are going to want an explanation for that leviathan creeping up on Atlas."

"And you'll get one, I'm sure," the woman insisted as she moved a bit closer to the man. "But for now, what matters i-"

"Hold that thought," Sun insisted as he slipped past the man and began to jog down the docks after Weiss, Yang, and Jaune.

The green flames coming from Penny Polendina's feet died down slightly as she slowly and carefully guided herself into an upright landing. The android girl immediately put her hands upon her hips and blew out a breath as the teens approached.

"Well, that was _quite_ a fight," the girl mused before offering the group a wide smile. "Mantle hasn't been under threat like that since l-"

" _Penny!_ " Yang yelled as she swept the girl into a bone-crushing hug. The android blinked rapidly in surprise as her arms were pinned to her sides, and she looked down into Yang's tangled, damp mass of hair.

"…'Penny'?" the girl repeated as she tilted her head. "And… do I know you…?"

Yang's heart suddenly felt as icy as her soaked skin and clothing as she pulled back and gave her friend a horrified look.

"What… the hell are you talking about?" Yang asked cautiously as Weiss raised a hand to cover her mouth, looking equally stunned.

"Who is Penny?" the girl asked as she quirked a brow. "And who are all of you…?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

That… is a _lot_ of characters. Time to finally check back in on Blake, and maybe Ruby's crew.

 **-RD**


	75. Another Scheme

Blake let out a small groan as she squinted her eyes closed even more tightly. The sensation of a gentle hand rubbing at one of her feline ears caused her to squirm within the bed, and she let out a soft moan as she melted against the touch.

" _Sun_ , not now. Let me sleep…"

"Not quite," came a reply in a familiar, feminine voice.

Blake's eyes flew open, and she stared at the unfamiliar wall beside her bed as she began to blush furiously. Her mind raced as she tried to remember her surroundings through the fog of sleep, and she eventually figured out that she was still in one of the upstairs bedrooms of _The Notched Blade_.

"You heard _nothing_ ," Blake insisted as she flicked her ear in an effort to dislodge it from her mother's grasp.

"I heard _everything_ ," Kali teased. "It's past time to get up, Blake. _Way_ past… but you're not the only one who slept in."

Blake rolled onto her other side to face her mother, who was still wearing a purple bathrobe.

"What do you mean? What time is it?" the younger faunus asked with a wide yawn.

"Almost noon," Kali answered casually as she let her hand drop down to rest upon the mattress. "Neptune just got up, and Qrow is still asleep. I don't think any of us have been sleeping particularly well, lately."

"No, we haven't," Blake agreed as she sat up in bed. "But we've wasted too much time already. I need to shower. I need to get downstairs, we need to start rebuilding, organizing the people, a-"

Kali put out a firm hand and held Blake's shoulder down as the girl tried to rise from the bed. Blake immediately stopped talking and gave her mother a confused look, her ears wilting.

"…Mom?"

"You're correct in everything, but before all of that… I'd like to talk for a moment. Mother-to-daughter," Kali explained as she rubbed at Blake's shoulder. "It's… been a long time since we've been alone, able, and not in an immediate crisis situation."

Blake blinked in surprise and relaxed herself as she raised a brow. "Oh…kay? What do you want to talk _about?_ "

"First, and most importantly, how proud I am of you," Kali lilted with a wide grin. She reached out and ruffled Blake's tangled mess of hair, earning a scowl for her efforts.

" _Mom!_ " Blake groused while shrinking down slightly.

"No, I mean it- becoming part of a well-known team in your time at Beacon, finding yourself a man worthy of you who supports you in everything you do, and now, making the hard decision to come here with me to start out the Black Claw," Kali listed as she withdrew her hand. "You've become an admirable woman in your own right, and you do well in crisis situations."

Blake had the grace to look ashamed as her cheeks tinted a furious crimson.

"That… last part hasn't always been true," Blake admitted. "Really, it's only become true _recently_ , and that's all thanks to Sun."

"Not _all_ thanks to Sun," Kali corrected. "He pushed up against your walls until you let him in, yes, but you had to meet him along the road to healing. Otherwise, he'd be standing out there alone and yelling for you to come out of hiding. The fact that you let him in so close to you shows maturity and growth. I'm so happy that you found him."

Blake's insecure expression finally turned into a soft smile, and her blush intensified as she showed a hint of teeth to her mother.

"He… made a list of things for Neptune to read to me before bed every night, for two months," Blake said softly.

"…that is _adorable_ ," Kali said as her ears wilted and she returned her daughter's smile. "Incredibly, pathetically dorky, but adorable."

" _Mom!_ "

"Am I wrong?" Kali asked, only for Blake to look away while shaking her head. "He _adores_ you."

"I adore him," Blake replied as she finally met her mother's eyes again. "He's… honestly my world. Leaving him behind to do this with you was the hardest thing I've ever done. Harder than even leaving the White Fang. Going our separate ways while knowing that he's still hurting so much and dealing with his own issues has me feeling like I'm failing as his girlfriend. I already feel like I'm failing as a person, most of the time."

"…Blake," Kali began as she shifted to sit next to her daughter and draped an arm over her shoulders, "you're doing this at _his_ request. You're doing it to test the strength of your bond, and for the good of Remnant as a whole. And you know what? When the pair of you finally _do_ reunite… it's going to be beautiful. You're going to feel so much more in love and appreciate him that much more for the amount of time you'll have been apart."

"Maybe you're right," Blake admitted. "Maybe… I'm being too hard on myself. Sun tells me that all the time."

"Well, he seems pretty smart to me," Kali pointed out. "After all, he gave his heart to _you_. Really, though- I think he's right. After all, look at how happy your friends were to see you again. If you were such a horrible person, they wouldn't want to be around you after you ran back home. Neptune gets along with you rather well, too, and I can tell from the plane ride alone that he cares deeply about both you, and Sun."

"He does," Blake confirmed. "He's having his own issues, too, and could use some support."

"…is he?" Kali asked as her ears perked once again. "Perhaps I'll work my magic and see if I can't give him a little confidence boost."

Blake gave her mother a cautious, sidelong look, and cleared her throat.

"I'm… going to need you to be clearer with your intentions, because coming from you, that is _terrifying_."

Kali raised a brow, until realization clicked with her mind and she offered Blake a toothy, mischievous grin.

"…I'm not going to _sleep with him_ , Blake. I'm out of the dating pool for quite a while, given recent events," Kali clarified. "I just meant it in a friendly way. That being said, he _is_ a cutie," she admitted while putting a finger to her lips.

" _Mom!_ "

"Only kidding!" Kali said as she raised her hands defensively. " _Probably_."

"…I hope Sun proposes soon, just so I can take the name Wukong and pretend I'm not related to you," Blake joked as she rolled her eyes. The girl took a deep, tense breath before using her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Can I… tell you something awkward? I'm only going to go through with it if you _promise_ not to perv out and be gross."

"You can tell me _anything_ , Blake," Kali reassured as she folded her hands into her lap. "I'll be normal. Normal-normal, not normal for me."

"Good to know," Blake replied as she wrung her hands in her lap. "This is… _so_ uncomfortable, but I feel like I should tell you, for some reason. Um… thanks. For the… for the condoms. You were right."

Kali fought a losing battle to contain her grin for all of five seconds, before allowing her victorious smile to come out in full force.

" _You're welcome_. I saw that chemistry between you two on _day one_. I knew you would get to that point sooner than later, and I'm happy that you trust him enough for that. Again- even if you don't really understand why, I'm proud of you," Kali praised before planting a kiss on her daughter's cheek.

"…you're proud of me for having sex?" Blake asked.

"Yes," Kali reassured. "Not just that- for having sex with a man like _him_. In a relationship like yours, it's a passionate display of trust on a level beyond everything before that point."

"I know, Mom," Blake grumbled as she squirmed. "Can we stop talking about it now? I just wanted to thank you."

"Not just yet," Kali denied. "You're not giving yourself enough credit. You know, Sun was probably thrilled."

"He was," Blake said quickly, before coughing again. "Moving swiftly on…"

"Not just physically. He's been craving that level of trust from s-"

"Shit's fucked, and someone's here who shouldn't be," an abrasive voice interrupted, causing both of the faunus to jump. There in the doorway stood Amaya, wearing a pair of jean shorts and a black crop top with "FUCK YOU" written across it in large, white, aggressive lettering. She held a pair of hookswords in her hands, the outward blades around the grips modified with sawed-off shotguns- one colored blood red and the other a rich purple, to match her hair.

"You're going to have be more specific," Kali replied as she stood up and adjusted her bathrobe. "Who's here?"

"That's what we're about to find out. One of you two with me- the other go and get the man upstairs," Amaya instructed. "Someone's downstairs, and we don't open until three."

"I'll go, and you go and wake Qrow," Blake offered before nodding to her mother. She stood from the bed and grabbed Gambol Shroud from its place leaned up against the nightstand, before turning her attention toward Amaya. "How do you know someone's downstairs?"

"Semblance," Amaya answered quickly as she turned and stalked out into the hallway to wait. She turned and cracked her neck as she leaned back against the wooden wall, her deep red eyes fixed on Blake as the girl made preparations and adjusted her nightie. "I can manipulate blood… and I can sense it, too. Any living being with blood inside of a certain radius? I can _feel_ them. Airborne blood, or any coming from an open wound? I can control it. Draw it out. _Mold_ it."

"That's… terrifying," Blake admitted as she made her way out into the hallway with Kali in tow. Her attention was immediately drawn to her left, where Neptune stood clutching his halberd and looking rather embarrassed. The boy was wearing only a pair of bright yellow boxers with cartoon sea turtles and starfish patterned upon them. "And _that_ is even _more_ terrifying."

"Sh-shut up!" Neptune whined as he frowned at Blake. "She wouldn't give me time to get dressed!"

" _Cute_ ," Kali remarked as she passed the boy and ran her fingers along his shoulder. Neptune stiffened, suddenly looking worried, and as though he was holding something back. "See you all in a few."

Amaya merely rolled her eyes and set out, marching down the hall at a brisk pace as she whirled her swords and flared her wings out behind herself to look more intimidating. Blake and Neptune hurried to catch up, walking on either side of her.

"Just how much are you capable of telling with your… blood sense?" Blake asked.

"Female. Faunus. Mid-twenties. Type B-," Amaya recited automatically.

Neptune's brows raised as he adjusted his goggles upon his forehead. "Holy _shit_."

"…you sleep with _goggles_ on?" Blake inquired, only for Neptune to scowl at her again.

" _I have sensitive eyes!_ "

"Both of you, shut it," Amaya warned as they neared the staircase leading down into the bar. "We need to look like a threat to try to _avoid_ a fight, if at all possible. Which… is going to be hard in sea animal boxers. Why couldn't it have been the scruffy dude that was awake?"

"Everyone is so mean to me," Neptune lamented as he stuck his lip out into a pathetic pout.

"…wait," Blake said softly, causing the other two to pause in their tracks. "That description. You don't think…?"

Neptune raised a brow, looking confused. "I… I'm not sure where you're going with this. Drawing a total blank here."

Amaya leaned forward slightly, looking annoyed. "You got a sister? Some celebrity I'm not thinking of? My ex-girlfriend? Can't be her, her blood tasted differently."

" _Tasted?_ " Neptune repeated, his voice nearly a squeak.

Blake heaved a massive sigh before leading the group forward once again. " _Never mind_. I have a weird feeling about this, is all."

The group descended into the bar one after another, and Blake paused as she caught sight of the intruder. The girl pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger as she drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

" _Hey!_ That shit's not free, you know!" Amaya complained as she stomped up to the lone woman sitting at the bar.

"Put it on Kali's tab," Cinnamon said with a shrug as she rotated atop the stool to face the trio, a highball glass of alcohol in hand. "Where is she, Blake? Qrow, too. We need to talk."

"Talk about _what?_ " Blake asked in a tone full of frustration. "You told us you were going back to Mistral, after taking care of Adam."

"Adam's dead," Cinnamon said flatly. "And I did… but I found something there that I wasn't expecting."

Blake's face paled, and she fell silent for several seconds as she let the news register. Finally, she found her voice again, and steeled herself as she stared Cinnamon down. Despite her efforts, she could still feel her hand shaking as her mind swam with conflicting thoughts.

"Well, don't leave us hanging…"

Cinnamon raised her glass and drained it of amber liquid before placing it gently atop the bar beside herself and crossing her legs.

"I now have a direct line to Salem… and I fully intend on using it."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

If _What You Stole_ merch existed, it would be Neptune's boxers, and nothing else.

 **-RD**


	76. A Twist in the Myth

"C'mon, guys, we've got this," Ruby said cheerfully as she collapsed Crescent Rose and slung the weapon back into its place upon her belt. The cloud of ashes that had been a beowulf before her swirled into nothingness in short order, and she cracked her fingers outward while thrusting her palms ahead of herself.

"No one is saying we don't," Ren offered calmly as he spun his weapons back into their holsters. "However, you seem… a bit off. Weary. Is something on your mind?"

Ruby laughed nervously as she began to walk once again, her party falling in line behind her.

"Well… _yeah_ , there is one thing. But maybe I'm just not getting enough sleep. It's been rough, out here in the w-"

"Spill it," Nora interrupted as she increased her pace to walk at Ruby's side. "No secrets. We're a team, and I mean that in the purest sense of the word- not just a school sense. What we're doing is big. _Huge_. Maybe never been done in hundreds of years, for all we know. We need to take care of each other, and that means keeping track of everyone's mental states. Letting things build and build until they explode could cost lives," she finished with a meaningful look at Ren. The boy returned it with a guilty one of his own, before averting his eyes into the tree line.

"I think Nora's right," Oscar said softly as he moved to walk at Ruby's other side. "Even if it's something you don't want to say out loud… maybe we can help you through it, or at least help you cope."

Ruby let out a long sigh before coming to a halt and slowly wiping a hand along her brow. She shook her head, and then finally turned to face her friends with a look of apprehension.

"What if… what if we _fail?_ "

"Here we go," Sage muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm being serious," Ruby snapped. "What if we _don't_ find Raven? What if I can't convince her to work with us? She looked like she wanted nothing to do with me at Haven, and from what Yang told me about what happened down in the vault… I don't know if she'll stand with us."

"If we fail, then we fail," Sage said simply as he adjusted his grip on the massive sword slung across his shoulder. "And then we pick ourselves back up and find a new direction. We're hunters. 'swhat we do. Worst case scenario, we figure out what we can do to make a difference in Vale, and once we run outta reason to stay, we head for Atlas. Ain't like we don't know where everyone's at."

"I think… Sage might be right," Oscar reassured. "We're doing the best we can in a terrible situation, and even Professor Ozpin thinks that this is our best bet. We should hope that things work out for the best, but if they don't… we reassess and create a Plan B."

Ruby gave Oscar a conflicted look, and her shoulders slumped a bit.

"I know, and I _do_ think that what we're doing is worth the risk, but I just… I would feel a lot better if there _was_ a Plan B. Even a rough idea. Something that will help me feel like this isn't a complete waste of time and splitting of resources if the most likely outcome is what we end up with," Ruby explained.

"…you know, I've been thinking," Ren said softly as he leaned up against a tree and folded his arms across his chest. "Regardless of whether or not we _do_ find Raven and your father… would it not be worthwhile to check on Beacon, while we're here? I th-"

" _No_."

Ruby's eyes widened as her stomach dropped at the cold, unfamiliar voice that interrupted Ren's suggestion. She slowly looked over to Oscar as the others did the same, only to find that the boy was glaring daggers at Ren. His unoccupied hand was clenched into a tight fist, while the other gripped the head of his cane hard enough to turn his knuckles white.

"Professor…?" Ruby tried, only for Oscar's cold, judgmental gaze to snap to her.

"We are _not_ returning to Beacon Academy, under any circumstances," the boy warned, his voice deep and full of authority. "The risk is too great, and bringing a relic, even a fake one, will likely draw attention from Salem that the school cannot handle in its current state. There is no reason to return Beacon. We make an attempt to find Taiyang and Raven, and should we fail, we head for Atlas. End of discussion."

"… _not_ end of discussion," Nora sneered as she put her hands on her hips and began to circle Oscar. "Why are you acting so hostile, when we're just trying to help? Ren's suggestion makes a lot of sense- shouldn't we at least stop in to let the other professors know that you're _alive?_ What about telling them what we're doing with the relics? Don't you think it's important that those who need to know… you know. _Know?_ "

"Glynda has specific instructions in the event of my demise, and she should expect me to have reincarnated by now," Oscar said coldly. "To 'check in' on them would be a waste of time, a-"

"A _waste of time?_ " Nora spat. "What about giving people _hope_ is a 'waste of time'? Don't you care about how the defenders at Beacon are feeling right now? They're shouldering just as much of a burden as we are, if not more!"

"Of _course_ I care!" Oscar roared. "But I also care that we gather powerful allies for the coming storm. I agreed to this plan of Sun's because, quite honestly, without Raven and Taiyang, we may not stand a chance against Salem, and the more time we waste, the more power she gains! Rebuilding Beacon will mean _nothing_ if we don't make the most of the window we're buying with transporting this counterfeit relic, and reunite with General Ironwood! You have no _idea_ of the forces we're playing with!"

"Then tell us," Sage replied with a shrug. "Or do you have another reason for not going back to Beacon Academy? Seems like it'd take all of a day to let them know you're alive and coordinate their efforts with ours. If Beacon itself means nothing, then let's grab the professional huntsmen and huntresses from the school, bring 'em to Atlas, and bolster our defenses. We've got no reason not to."

The rest of the group fell silent as Oscar inhaled sharply through his nose and closed his eyes while pinching between his temples.

"…we head for Patch, and then Atlas. There will be no further discussion."

The boy lurched forward suddenly as a sickly green flashed out from beneath his closed lids. He let out a cry of surprise as he stumbled forward and used his cane to support himself while his knees trembled.

"Guh… s-sorry…"

"You have nothing to apologize for," Ruby insisted as she approached and crouched down to put a hand on Oscar's shoulder. "We know it isn't you."

"Y-yeah," Oscar replied as he took in a series of panicked breaths. "Every time he forces himself in, it feels harder to come back. Please… try not to upset him."

Ruby stood straight and gave Sage a serious look as she dropped her hand back to her side.

"…take point. I'll handle our rear guard. Move out, people."

Sage quirked a brow and nodded with a grunt of indifference.

"So, we're just pretendin' nothing odd happened, then? That's cool."

Ruby watched for a moment as Sage began to walk, and then patted Oscar on the arm.

"Stay close to him and focus on breathing. I'll have your back," Ruby offered with a smile.

Oscar returned the gesture and moved to walk behind Sage. Ruby let the pair of boys get ahead before she made a beckoning gesture to Ren and Nora, and took out her scroll. They both took out their devices as well, and Ruby began to lead the trio as she tapped out a quick message to both of them

" _Whether or not we find Raven, we're going to Beacon."_

Ruby stole a glance over her shoulder as she hit the 'Send' button. Mere seconds later, Ren and Nora looked up from their screens and gave her a pair of firm nods.

* * *

Cinnamon swirled the plastic stick within her freshly made cocktail as she looked across the table at Blake and Neptune. Neither of them said a word as they waited, clearly uncomfortable. Blake's ears were flat to her skull, and Neptune had resigned to resting his weapon in his lap to afford himself more coverage than his boxers provided.

"…oh, don't look so glum," Cinnamon teased. "Honestly, you should be happy to see me. I wasn't planning on setting foot in Kuo Kuana ever again, after what happened here just before the assault on Haven."

"You just said you have a line to Salem," Blake replied coldly. "What do you want from us? Why _are_ you here? Is she protecting you, now, so you can try to boost the Fang up above us before we even get started?"

Cinnamon raised a brow and put up a hand while bracing her elbow upon the table.

"Blake- _stop_. You have entirely the wrong idea. When your mother and Qrow get here, I'll explain everything. I'm only going to ask you for _one_ simple favor, and to be honest… even _that_ will be for your benefit. If anyone here should be upset, it's _me_ ," she finished with a scowl.

"I don't see how that's even possible," Blake grumbled. A sudden hand upon her shoulder caused her to jump, and she instinctively raised a fist before slowly unclenching her fingers as Neptune cowered back.

"Whoa, _hey!_ " he whined as he dropped his guard. "Calm down! Let's just… hear her out, okay? She can't take all five of us."

Cinnamon simply rolled her eyes as the stairs on the far side of the room began to creak. Amaya led the procession of adults down into the bar proper, with Kali in her bathrobe and Qrow in a pair of pajama pants and a sleeveless white t-shirt trailing behind.

"What is this?" Kali asked immediately as she folded her arms across her chest and took the chair beside her daughter. "Why are you here, Cinnamon? You told me we would have loose lines of communication _at best_ , and honestly? I'm a little tired of your bravado and insistence on continuing the White Fang, despite everything else going on. We don't need additional stress."

"Nice to see you, too," the woman mocked as she offered the feline faunus a scowl.

"Listen, I'm gonna be the neutral party here, especially since you're asking for me specifically," Qrow offered as he pulled a chair to the side of the table next to Kali. "That tells me this has something more to it than just the White Fang and Black Claw."

"Correct," Cinnamon offered. "It has to do with Salem, and _all_ of our paths moving forward."

"…Salem?" Amaya asked as she mirrored Qrow, pulling up a chair on the side of the table between Neptune and Cinnamon.

"…Amaya, as amazingly generous as you've been… we may need some privacy for this," Qrow warned as he gave the woman a weary look. "These are matters a little beyond what most p-"

Amaya crashed her elbow atop the table and immediately raised a middle finger, accentuated by a fingernail painted in deep purple to match the majority of her hair.

"My bar? My right to eavesdrop. If 'Salem' is some enemy of the Black Claw, then they're my enemy, too. I can fight, and I'm not planning on running a shitty little inn forever. Either pull me in, or get the fuck out of my bar," the woman warned.

"…you. I like you," Cinnamon praised as she offered the bat a smirk before turning her attention back to Qrow. "You've got a band of teenagers with attitude running the show right now, so are you really going to deny another set of hands? After today, especially- we'll need them."

"What is this 'we' you speak of?" Kali asked. "There's _us_ , and there's _you_ , unless something drastic has changed."

"It has," Cinnamon informed. "Adam's been eliminated, and I have a prisoner."

Blake tensed at the mention of Adam's name, and looked up at Kali as her mother's hand immediately rested upon her thigh beneath the table. The two exchanged a brief look of understanding, before Kali nodded sharply.

"… _good_. What prisoner? Why should we care?"

"Does the name 'Tyrian Callows' mean anything to you?" Cinnamon asked as she swirled her drink with the plastic stick once again.

"…you've _got_ to be kidding me," Qrow spat as he rubbed at his forehead. "Alright, what do you want for him? He and I have a score to settle."

"You misunderstand," Cinnamon replied. "As I said, this is about _Salem_ \- I'm not offering a trade. I'm not offering to kill him for you. I'm not offering anything, actually. I'm _telling_ you what I'm about to do, and I'm expecting you to cooperate."

"You don't call the shots," Blake cut in as her ears pulled back and she leaned over the table. "We made a plan at Qrow's house in Mistral, and we all agreed to stick to it to keep the relics safe!"

"Relics…?" Amaya asked, raising a brow. "Yeah, still here, by the way."

"I'll… explain everything to you, after this," Neptune muttered as he leaned in toward Amaya. "Promise."

The bat faunus nodded in response and folded her hands atop the table with a smirk.

Cinnamon raised a hand and ran it through her dreadlocks in an exasperated motion. Suddenly, her face fell, and she let out a noise of frustration before giving Blake and Kali a weary look.

"…listen. I'm almost certainly about to make a move that will benefit _all_ of us, and cost _me_ everything… but I need you to trust me, before I pull the trigger. Can we all just take a step back, remember that we worked together to save Haven Academy and rid the world of Adam Taurus, and commit to doing what's best for Remnant as a whole? This isn't about the White Fang," she added. "After today, there may not _be_ a White Fang."

One of Kali's ears flicked as she raised a brow and tensed up.

"…I'm not convinced that you're not just putting on an act right now to win us over," Kali warned, "but we'll at least listen. What are you planning, and what's stopping you from just going ahead and doing it?"

"One thing, and one thing only," Cinnamon answered before she looked over to Qrow, all of her usual haughtiness and bravado absent from her voice. "How big of a threat _is_ Salem, really? How dire is this about to get, if she gets her hands on the relics?"

Qrow breathed out heavily and folded one leg atop the other, angled parallel to the ground.

"From what Ozpin's told me? If she gets her hands on _any_ of the relics, we're talking a potential end-of-the-world scenario by process of escalation. Granted, I don't know what any of the relics _do_ , but I know they're powerful. The kind of power so great that Oz wouldn't even tell me why they need to be protected, in case I couldn't resist the temptation. He only told me that we can't let them get into her hands, and he went through the trouble of overseeing the construction of all four major academies to hide them," Qrow explained. "So, yeah. If you want my honest answer- this is life or death. Not just for all of us- for _Remnant_ , and it looks like Salem's tired of running recon and shuffling shit around. We're staring down the barrel, and it's our move, right now."

Cinnamon fell silent as she folded her hands in front of her face, her elbows upon the table. She furrowed her brows as she drew in several deep breaths, the spines on one of her arms twitching as she became lost in thought.

"…so, yeah," Amaya said to break up the silence as she slid out of her seat. "I'mma need a fucking drink, now. Anyone e-"

"Yes," the table replied in unison.

"…and not apple juice this time. Please?" Neptune asked, anxiety written all over his face.

Amaya settled for giving the boy a quick nod and touching her hand to his shoulder before retreating behind the bar and beginning to pull down bottles and glasses.

"…then it's settled," Cinnamon said as she dropped her hands into her lap with a sense of finality. "Tyrian came to me and insisted that the Fang serve Salem, on account of a debt that Adam apparently had to her. I managed to take him down and get him into a cage, but it won't be long before I need to make a decision. That decision is going to be that I'm setting him loose, following him to Salem, and feeding you information where and when I can. From here on, I'm your inside woman."

"…you're insane," Qrow replied immediately as he dropped his leg and leaned forward. "That kind of risk isn't something to just throw around lightly, especially when she has no reason to trust you. What's to stop her from killing you and taking the Fang for herself?"

"I have a plan for that," Cinnamon countered. "So far as she'll know, the 'Fang' will be _here_ , in Kuo Kuana, reintegrating with society in the faunus capital and poising themselves to strike at you when you least expect it. In reality… there will _be_ no Fang. They'll be rolled into the Black Claw under my subordinate, Daisuke, and ultimately answer to _you_ ," she finished with a look at Kali.

Blake looked over at her mother, her expression filled with unease as she watched the older faunus pale.

"Mom…?"

"…and you think they'll just follow those orders? Upend their entire way of life to help us, here?" Kali asked.

"After what Adam has done to our image? Yes, I do, once I give the order," Cinnamon said coolly. "They'll have no choice. I trust Daisuke to lead them in my stead, and he will ultimately answer to you. You wanted a fifth kingdom, did you not? Salem is now at my doorstep, and I can't fight her, meaning staying in place isn't an option. I can't run forever, nor am I stupid enough to go out in a blaze of glory while accomplishing nothing. So… I'm doing _this_."

"Doing this would be the kind of risk you can't afford," Qrow warned. "Whether or not we're allies, you're playing with fire, and potentially committing yourself to something you don't fully understand."

"And that's the problem," Cinnamon pointed out. " _None_ of us understand exactly what we're dealing with, in Salem… but you're wrong. There is no 'risk'… because a risk implies a safer option. It's this, join her in earnest, or resist and _die_. Beacon has fallen. Haven _almost_ fell, and would have, had we not coordinated. Atlas or Shade is next, and if _Remnant_ itself is at stake, then I'm not going to be selfish and jeopardize everything for the sake of sticking to my original plan. There are things that matter more than pride, and more than race. Providing all of you intel and figuring out her next target would be the most helpful course of action for the overall cause, so I'm doing it. Believe me- this is _far_ from what I _want_. Just be thankful that she sent Tyrian to Mistral, rather than Kuo Kuana."

The room fell silent once again as Amaya returned to the table and set drinks in front of everyone. She returned to her seat without a word and looked around at the others only to find each of them looking upset.

"…what if you're found out?" Neptune asked quietly. "We can't save you."

"I'm not asking to _be_ saved," Cinnamon replied as she slid out from her chair and stood into a stretch. "This is happening, whether you lot like it or not. I'll do my part to plant the Fang in Kuo Kuana and tell Tyrian my supposed 'plan' before following him to Salem. Use my people to fortify the island and prepare for whatever may happen from there. I'll be in touch when I can, but don't expect to hear from me for a while. Who learns what is going to depend largely on where I'm sent. All that I ask, the _one_ thing I need you to do, is treat my people well. Treat them, and _especially_ Daisuke, as equals to you and yours."

Kali let out a defeated sigh and raised her glass before taking a long, slow drink and setting it back down.

"…I don't know what to say, honestly. I'll… do the best I can to put the members of the former White Fang to good use, and make them comfortable here," Kali offered.

"I expect that you will," Cinnamon replied with a nod as she approached the door. "I'm not much for goodbyes, so… 'til next time."

Blake watched with a feeling of dread as Cinnamon disappeared through the door and made her way outside of the building.

"I… I think I need some time alone," she announced before standing up from the table and heading for the staircase.

"…I think I got the gist of it," Amaya said quietly, "but I'm gonna need details, Neptune."

"Yeah," the boy replied as he fidgeted in his seat. "Yeah, I'll… just give me a bit."

"I think we all need some time to process what the hell just happened," Qrow offered as he stood from the table. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

"I'll be in my room," Kali followed up as she rose. "I have a lot to think about."

The pair of adults made their way to the staircase in silence, leaving Neptune sitting alone with Amaya. He sucked in a deep breath and shook out his hands in a fit of nervous energy, before locking eyes with the faunus.

"Well… let's see. It all started just before the attack on Haven Academy…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Back to Sun's crew next time.

 **-RD**


	77. A Matter of Perspective

Ilia bristled as Sun's hand lightly touched the bare flesh of her arm once again.

"Stop it, Sun," she growled as they walked side by side in the middle of a procession of a large crowd of combatants. "My arm is _fine_."

" _Still_ ," the boy replied insistently, "I wish you would've stayed out of combat until you got it officially checked out at the academy. I don't want you overdoing it."

"I don't think we have any option _but_ to 'overdo it' at this point," the girl pointed out. "We're clearly not safe down here in Mantle, and if what Cinnamon said about having agents here is correct… we need to watch our backs."

"We do," Sun agreed as he brought his hand up once more and squeezed lightly around Ilia's bicep. "This _really_ doesn't h- _ow!_ "

"Did _that_ hurt?" Ilia mocked as she reeled her hand back in from a harsh slap across Sun's cheek. "I'm _fine!_ "

"Hey," a deep, feminine voice called from Ilia's other side as a hand came to rest on her shoulder. Yang gave the smaller girl a stern look as she watched Sun rub at his chin and shook her head. "Cool it, for now. There'll be plenty of time to abuse Sun once we get up to Atlas."

"Aw, thanks," Sun offered as he rolled his eyes. "Glad to know you're looking out for me."

"So, you guys are friends?" Marrow asked from his place behind Ilia. The wolf faunus cocked his head to one side and gave the group a friendly smile, which Sun couldn't help but return.

"Yeah! We all met at Beacon Academy. Well… Yang, Weiss, and I did, at least. Ilia, I met later, and we all… I mean, Yang and Weiss didn't know her until recently, so I guess…?" Sun trailed off while scratching the back of his head.

"…you are _garbage_ at explaining things," Ilia griped as she huffed out a sigh. "Yang and Weiss used to be on Team RWBY at Beacon Academy. Sun met them at the Vytal Festival, and I… I met Sun in Kuo Kuana, as a member of the White Fang."

Sun's tail immediately began to twist and swirl behind him as he gave the girl a cautious look.

"Uh, is it really the best idea t-"

"It is," Ilia confirmed with a quick nod. "They're the _Ace Ops_ , Sun- Ironwood's personal special operative unit. They _will_ find a out, and it's in better faith to just tell them now. Yang and I fought with them for a bit before coming to you, and they filled us in. We have no chance of flying under their radar. This is Marrow Amin," she added with a quick nod behind herself.

"…hey," the dark-skinned male replied as he gave Ilia a wary look. "Please tell me that you're… _former_ White Fang, and not an active member?"

"I am," Ilia confirmed as she pointed to the second group of people walking in front of them. "But still. The taller one with the hammer is Elm Ederne, and the shorter woman with the mechanical gauntlets is Harriet Bree. The leader up there, talking with Weiss and Jaune? Clover Ebi. They're our best shot at getting to Ironwood quickly… even if that means giving me up along with Corsac."

"We're _not_ giving you up," Yang reassured as she rubbed the smaller girl's shoulder and gave Marrow a sidelong glance. "And if that becomes a _problem_ , then I hope you four are as good as you say."

"Please, let's not create an issue before there is one," Marrow insisted with an apologetic grin as he raised both hands before himself. "I'm sure we can work this out… though getting up to General Ironwood may be a bit of a stretch, unless you have absolutely vital information. He's dealing with a lot right now, and I doubt he has time to speak to a group of civilians."

"He needs to _make_ time," Sun said firmly. "We have information for him about what went down at Haven Academy… and some of that information might be above _your_ pay grade. Trust me on this one- it's a potential game-changer."

Marrow slowed his walking, a cautious look on his face as he eventually came to a stop. Sun, Ilia, and Yang turned and followed suit, standing near the slightly older man and giving him unreadable stares.

"…you were at Haven," Marrow repeated. "And you have information for the general. Do you have something… _physical_ with you, to go with that information?"

Sun exchanged a quick look with Yang, and the girl gave him a firm nod.

"…yeah. We do. Something that apparently brings grimm along with it," the faunus boy replied cryptically. "We didn't know that at the time… and we want to get it locked down and secured with a _vault_."

Marrow drew a deep breath in through his nostrils, his perpetually wagging tail suddenly very still.

"…something… lamp-shaped…?"

"So you know," Yang pointed out as she folded her arms across her chest. "Ironwood's filled you in."

"He has," Marrow agreed. "The Aces are aware of… _her_. He's preparing for the worst, and if we're really talking about the same thing… you _do_ need to get topside, and fast. Please, take my advice- be _honest_ with Clover. Be direct. Don't withhold any information, and trust his judgment… even if you don't understand it. It may be better to give the relic to _him_ , honestly, a-"

"The lamp stays with us," Ilia said flatly. " _We_ are bringing it to Ironwood, end of discussion. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we've been screwed over by people we thought we could trust more than enough for one trip, and I'm not settling for taking a 'hands off' approach when we're dealing with the fate of Remnant. _We_ brought you a key piece in what's probably about to become a war. _You_ bring us up to Atlas in return, and let us stay involved. Those are the terms. Right, Sun?"

Sun looked down at Ilia and found her face full of determination. He needed to see her expression for only a second before turning to Marrow and offering him a nod.

"Right."

Marrow made an uncomfortable noise, and mirrored Yang's posture.

"…if it was up to me… then I'd push to keep you all involved. Unfortunately… it's not. Just follow my advice for Clover, and hope for the best. If things go sideways, _I'll_ talk to the general and try to get you an audience. That's the most I can promise, right now."

"…is something wrong?"

Marrow looked over his shoulder to find "Penny" escorting Corsac. The pair had caught up during Marrow's impromptu discussion, and the android girl eyed him curiously. Marrow raised a brow and nodded sideways to Corsac while keeping his eyes on Sun.

"…is he in the know?"

"No," Sun said quickly.

" _And_ he was White Fang, up until just a few days ago," Ilia added while glaring daggers at the captive faunus. "He is _not_ one of us. We were escorting him as a prisoner."

"I am aware," the android replied with a blank expression. "He turned himself in to Clover Ebi, who has designated me as his personal escort for the duration of this outing. I will take the necessary precautions to ensure that he does not cause trouble."

"And I assure you, I will not," Corsac added. "I am ready to face the consequences of my actions."

Sun shifted his stance as he eyed the disappearing crowd ahead of them and waved the group along to start walking again. They followed, with Sun walking backward at the head of his group as he spoke.

"…thank you, Miss…?"

"Hope," the android replied as she remained at Corsac's side. "Hope Polendina. A pleasure to meet you, Mister…?"

"Sun. Sun Wukong. This is Ilia Amitola, and that's Yang Xiao Long," Sun said warily as he watched Hope's eyes dart to each person he gestured toward. The bright green, nearly glowing orbs seemed devoid of all life and spirit, to the point of being unsettling.

"I'll add files for each of you to my database," Hope offered with a quick nod and rigid smile. "A pleasure to meet each of you, as with Mr. Wukong."

"So you really don't remember anything?" Yang said as she kept her eyes on the road ahead. "You have no idea who the hell we are?"

"I am afraid that you may be mistaken as to my identity," Hope replied simply. "Once we arrive at Dr. Polendina's office, I'm sure he will be happy to answer your questions. I have no record of a unit named "Penny," and I can assure you, that is _not_ my designation."

Yang let out a low growl, only for Ilia to gently rest her arm upon the blonde's shoulder as the taller girl brought out her scroll and began to tap at the screen.

"Now _you_ cool it. I don't really know what's going on, b-"

"What about _her?_ " Yang asked as she whirled, catching Hope off guard and forcing the android to stop as she stood in place with her arm outstretched. Yang held out her device, which displayed a smiling portrait of Ruby on the screen. Hope eyed the picture with a raised brow, and scrunched her face as she narrowed her eyes, scanning the young girl's facial features. "Come on. You _must_ remember something. That's Ruby. Ruby Rose."

"Ruby… Rose…?" Hope asked. She allowed herself a meaningful pause, before shaking her head and lifting her eyes back up to meet Yang's. "Miss Xiao Long, you have my sincerest apologies, but I really do not have any database records regardi-"

"Oh, _come on,_ don't give me that shit!" Yang yelled, her temper flaring as Sun quickly moved to grip her wrist.

" _Yang_ ," he warned as Marrow gave the girl a stern look. "Stop. She doesn't know. It's not her fault, and we can't afford for things to get out of hand. Keep your mind on what's important right now. We can deal with this later."

Yang eyed up Hope one last time- beyond the android's fuller, waist-length hair and a minor change to her outfit, she could see no difference at all between the girl in front of her and Penny. The sight merely caused her rage to swell once again, and she grit her teeth before stuffing her scroll into her pocket and beginning to stomp off toward the other party.

Sun let out a heavy sigh as he watched Yang go, and shook his head before offering Hope a weak smile.

"…I'm sorry. Yang is under a lot of stress right now. I guess we all are, really. We need sleep, food, and just… some time to process everything that's going on."

"It is understandable," Hope offered with a wide smile of her own. "Don't worry- I won't hold it against her. Come- let's proceed to Dr. Polendina's office. The other group has already arrived, and they appear to be waiting impatiently," she added with a nod toward the other members of their party.

"Yes, good idea, Hope," Marrow said anxiously. "Come on- let's not keep them waiting even longer."

Hope, Marrow, and Corsac brushed past Sun and Ilia, walking side by side as they hurried along the cobblestone street.

"…so she's a robot, right?" Ilia asked as she kept her eyes on Hope's back. "Because if she's not a robot, this is _really_ fuckin' weird."

"She's a robot, yeah," Sun confirmed as he and Ilia began to follow the crowd together. "I didn't know her too well back at Beacon, but… she used to be 'Penny', as I'm sure you figured out by now. She and Ruby were close friends, and we all… we kinda saw her _die_ in the Vytal tournament. Yang's really torn up about it."

"You don't say," Ilia returned sarcastically. "Still, I… don't think robots can _have_ friends. Isn't she just a machine?"

"…I don't know," Sun admitted. "Going off of how she's acting now, I'm kinda inclined to agree with you… but don't let Yang hear you say that. We'll deal with all of that later."

"Yeah. Focus on the lamp, for now," Ilia reminded as she approached the collection of individuals ahead and nodded to Jaune, who offered her a wave. "What's up, loser?"

Jaune cringed slightly and made a small hissing noise.

"Uh, I know it's not really a big thing, but could you… _not_ call me that?" the boy asked. "It's brings up unpleasant memories."

Ilia quirked a brow and folded her arms across her chest.

"…sure? It's nothing personal. That's just how I treat everyone. My bad."

"It's fine," Jaune insisted with a cheesy smile as he moved out of the way for Clover. The leader of the Ace Ops strode through the assembled crowd, and fixed a Sun with a cold, unreadable stare.

"Alright. You're telling me that you all came here on business with Dr. Polendina… and I need to see proof, once we get inside. You, me, Hope, and two others of your choice are going inside, to avoid causing a scene. The rest of the Aces will stay out here with whoever remains, until the end of the discussion."

Hope gave Clover a crisp salute before moving to stand beside him and folding her hands before herself.

"I'm going," Yang said matter-of-factly as she moved to stand at Sun's side. "I don't care what you say. I have _words_ for this 'Dr. Polendina' that I'm not about to hold in for any longer than I need to."

"Hold them in until we're done discussing what we came here for, and I won't fight you," Sun offered. The girl gave him an annoyed look, before blowing a harsh breath out through her nose.

" _Fine_."

Sun eyed the remainder of Ilia, Weiss, and Jaune, and took each of their appearances into account. Ilia was looking up at him insistently with exhausted eyes, her hair streaked with ash and salt as it trailed in an unkempt mass behind her. Weiss' dress was still marred with dried blood along her shoulder, her ponytail was uneven, and she looked just as dirty as Ilia while wearing a miserable look. Jaune's armor was tarnished and his hair was a mess, but the boy seemed to be in oddly good spirits as he stood between members of the Ace Ops. Sun had an internal debate for a while before finally looking back at Hope, and the decision immediately became clear.

"…Weiss. You're with us."

The heiress' lips curled into a thankful smile as she gave Sun a nod and moved to join him.

Clover swept his gaze over the trio of teens, and then turned toward the rather unimpressive brick building before pointing two fingers toward the door and beginning to walk.

"Alright, then. Here we go."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Shockingly, this didn't cover everything I wanted it to, and will extend into the next chapter. Will this or won't this hit Chapter 100 before Volume 8? Place your bets now…

 **-RD**


	78. Reunion Tour

Sun coughed slightly and brought a hand up to his mouth as the group entered the small workshop. The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and chemicals, and a not insignificant layer of dust coated many of the books lining the walls of the entranceway. A long corridor led down to a large, brightly lit room from which metallic banging echoed, and Sun soon found himself starting to get a headache from prolonged exposure to the repetitive noise.

"Pietro?" Clover called as he made his way into the room with Hope in tow. "I need to speak to you."

A whole new unfamiliar sound caused Sun to physically recoil as he heard it. The grinding, metallic whirr that replaced the former banging seemed to creep through his very bones, and as he turned the corner with Weiss and Yang at his sides, he couldn't help but stare open-mouthed at the man before him.

Pietro Polendina was an elderly, dark-skinned man with greying hair and an equally ashen beard. He was a somewhat portly individual, and his features held the wrinkles and scars of someone who had experienced quite a lot for one lifetime. His wardrobe was of a simple, earth-toned suit with a curious pink bowtie. He sat atop a futuristic-looking chair held aloft by four, spider-like mechanical legs, each whirring and clicking as its knees bent in rhythm to carry him toward the group from the other side of the room.

"My, my, quite a crowd," Pietro remarked in a warm, kindly voice as he used a hand to adjust his glasses. "And here I was thinking tonight would be a quiet one, until Ms. Calavera showed up."

Maria gave the group a small wave from her place atop a stool on the far side of the room. Sun bristled and hissed as he saw that she had a drink in one hand, and the relic of knowledge in her lap beneath the other.

" _Nothing's_ ever quiet with this group around, Pietro," Maria sassed as she threw back her glass and drained it of liquid. "Though after this, we should be in the clear. Nice to see you kids too, by the way. I'm safe, and all. Thanks for asking."

Sun's heart pounded as he stole a glance at Clover, who had his eyes locked firmly upon the relic. Before anyone else could say a word, the faunus stepped forward and extended a hand to Pietro, along with a winning smile.

"Hi! We're friends of Ms. Calavera's, and we were trying to escort her here before the grimm attacked Mantle," the boy said quickly as Pietro took his hand and shook firmly. "I'm Sun, this is Yang and Weiss, and that's Clover."

"Oh, I know Mr. Ebi very well," Pietro said mirthfully as he folded his hands back in his lap. "And I also know about the relic back there, so you don't need to be overly polite. It's safe, and in good hands."

"While I appreciate your efforts in looking after it during the grimm attack, I need to transport that relic up to Atlas immediately," Clover stated authoritatively as he turned his attention down to Pietro. "General Ironwood will want to secure it within the Academy as soon as he hears of this, and regardless of their good intentions, I'm not about to trust a group of plucky teens with such a powerful artifact."

Yang's shoulders rose momentarily, before she turned her eyes to Sun and found him giving her a pleading look. With a heavy breath, she walked across the room and busied herself with inspecting random pieces of gadgetry laid about the workbenches with seemingly incredible interest.

"Sir… Mr. Ebi," Sun began, "While the rest of my group agrees that we need to get the relic to General Ironwood, it isn't that simple. If Dr. Poledina is trustworthy, then I think we should discuss some things to clear the air, and make more sense of this, now that we're safe."

"The _only_ things that we need to discuss are what to do with you and yours, and why you have a _relic_ ," Clover rebuked as he began to stride across the room, toward the aforementioned artifact. "Keep it short and sweet. We can't risk the lamp being out in public for any longer than it needs to be."

Weiss cleared her throat loudly enough to get the attention of everyone in the room, Clover included. The man turned just before reaching Maria and folded his arms across his chest.

"…problem, Miss _Schnee?_ "

"…had you spat my name with any more disgust, one of us would have to clean this poor man's floor," Weiss said as she mirrored Clover's pose and narrowed her eyes.

"I have my reasons," Clover replied cryptically.

" _Be that as it may_ ," Weiss said icily, "We have a relic because we stood together to protect Haven Academy. We came here to do our duty as hunters in protecting the people, and saw transporting the relic to General Ironwood as the best move for Remnant at large. Please consider that when deciding your next course of action regarding us."

The room fell silent as Hope finished a whispered side conversation with Pietro, and then made her way across the room to stand next to Clover. Yang saw the android through her peripheral vision and sneered as she clenched a fist. Sun could feel the tension in the room weighing upon his shoulders, and bit his lip as he awaited Clover's response.

"…huh," Clover said with a quick shrug. "That was a lot of words, to say very little… though I really shouldn't be too surprised. _Many_ people came together to defend Haven Academy. That doesn't explain how and why you got your hands on this, why you seem to know what it is, or how you got past the blockade in Argus. All of those facts are concerning, and enough to consider detaining you."

"Now, Clover," Pietro began as his walker carried him closer to the professional, "there's no need to be so harsh with these kids. I even recognize some of them, from the Vytal tournament broadcast."

"We're not _kids_ ," Yang seethed under her breath.

"As do I," Clover spat as he turned his eyes toward Yang, who met his gaze, unblinking. "I recognize _her_ from when she assaulted her opponent after he was down, and I recognize Wei-"

"Alright, that's it!" Yang said threateningly as she began to stride across the room, only for Sun to throw out an arm and stop her in her tracks.

"Whoa, _whoa!_ " the boy cried out as Yang shot him a death glare. " _Enough!_ Clover, we… all of us here were in a direct battle with Salem's forces and Adam Taurus at the school, Yang's mother is the Fall Maiden, she opened the vault at Haven, and left Yang with the relic of knowledge, and we worked together with the White Fang to slip past Argus security and bring the lamp here!"

"What the _fuck_ , Sun!?" Yang practically yelled as Weiss followed up with her own glare at the boy.

"Well, there's no putting any of _that_ back in the bag," the former heiress said with a heavy sigh before looking at Clover once again. "But it's all true."

"And that's what matters," Sun said emphatically as he slowly dropped his arm from holding back Yang. "That may be the short version, but that's _everything_ I can tell you about why we're here, and what we're doing. Please, we came here to help- not to endanger Mantle, Atlas, or anywhere else. All I'm asking is that you _let_ us help. Take us to General Ironwood, and I'll tell you both everything you want to know… but you need to take _all_ of us."

Clover was silent for a long time, and simply regarded Sun with a curious expression throughout the duration. The faunus boy jumped slightly as Pietro placed a large hand upon his shoulder.

"…for what it's worth, I think the boy's honesty should be commended. That is what you asked for, after all. While some of what was just said may not be the ideal scenario by any stretch of the imagination, the chips have fallen. Now, it's just a matter of what we do with them."

"…Hope, take the relic," Clover instructed as he kept his eyes on Sun. The android did as she was told as Maria offered the lamp up willingly.

"Good riddance," the older woman said harshly. "Stupid grimm magnet."

"… _please_ ," Sun repeated. "We can help. We've been fighting back Salem's forces and the White Fang for months, at this point."

"You also said you worked _with_ the White Fang," Clover reminded as he took out his scroll. "The Aces can handle this scenario. It's what we've been trained for."

"So you're not even going to let us talk to Ironwood?" Yang seethed.

" _General_ Ironwood," Clover said with disinterest as he brought his scroll to his ear. "And that's up to him. All of you are headed topside on account of having the missing Schnee daughter with you. A reward was put up for her return."

"I am _not_ returning to my father," Weiss insisted as Hope strode past her and made her way toward the entrance.

"General?" Clover said into the device as he turned away from the assembled group. "Yes, the grimm on the ground have been successfully repelled, and the source has been located. A group of teens have arrived in Mantle with the relic of knowledge from Haven Academy."

Another tense silence filled the room as Yang began to pace, her fists clenched once again.

'Sun Wukong, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, Ilia Amitola, and Jaune Arc. They're also transporting a high-ranking member of the White Fang. They want to see you personally, and claim to have information relating to Salem," Clover continued, before pausing as a response came over the line. "I'm in Dr. Polendina's workshop, and he is present. He has a guest. Understood."

" _Well?_ " Yang asked immediately.

"We're escorting you to General Ironwood personally," Clover confirmed as he snapped his scroll shut and headed for the entrance. "Dr. Polendina, Miss Calavera, your presence is required, as well."

"Oh, for the love of… and I just got comfortable!" Maria complained as she hopped off her stool.

"Let's not waste any time," Clover said coldly as he exited the room. Weiss was the first to follow, and then Pietro. Sun put a gentle hand on Yang's shoulder as they lagged behind, and he spoke in a near whisper.

"…I'm sorry for shutting you down, and for… telling him about Raven."

"Don't be," Yang spat as she glared after the mechanical chair ahead of them. "I'm _pissed_ , but I also agreed to let you lead us for a reason. I trust your judgment, and I _don't_ trust mine right now. Keep doing what you're doing. You're getting results."

"Well, the result that I want right now is for you to cool off and feel like you still have a say in this," Sun offered. "I'm no dictator. If you want to vent later, I'll lend you an ear."

"…maybe," Yang considered as they began to walk together. "But I _will_ be having words with the good doctor, after we get done with Ironwood."

"I know," Sun replied. "And then… I won't stop you. We need to do this with total honesty. _All_ of this- with Ironwood, and with each other."

"Then let's hope the others stick to that policy. I sure as hell will," Yang reassured as they made their way to the door.

Sun simply nodded, and walked back out to join the others.

* * *

Taiyang Xiao Long let out a long, weary sigh as he brought up a gloved hand to wipe the sweat from his brow. He stared down at the freshly made row of raised dirt with pride and dusted his hands together before removing his soiled gloves and beginning to walk back toward the house, hoe in hand.

"That's enough for one day," he mused as he returned the gardening equipment to its rightful place within the garage. "Now, to worry about dinner for one, as usual…"

As the man moved to step inside of his house, he paused. A strange feeling of pins and needles crept up his spine and arms, causing the hairs upon the back of his neck to stand straight. He held his breath for a moment as he simply listened, only to hear the sound of the refrigerator door open from deeper inside of the cottage.

"…hello?" he called rather loudly, only to receive no response.

Taiyang took a deep breath in through his nose before dipping back into the garage and hastily walking toward the far wall. There upon a simple rack was a long, golden trident inlaid with a blue swirl design snaking its way up the grip. He immediately took the weapon down and carried it with himself as he made his way into the house, walking briskly.

"Ruby? Yang?" he tried as he made his way toward the kitchen and leveled his weapon before himself.

Taiyang slid into the kitchen with his weapon at the ready, only to find the refrigerator door wide open, and nothing else suspicious. The man gently nudged the side of the door with his trident to close it, and began walking through the house once again as he blew out a tense breath.

"Alright, come on. Just make yourself known. I don't want to hurt you," Taiyang called as he walked into the living room, only to feel his heart stop at the sight of the figure sitting upon the couch with a bottle of wine in their hand and a sheathed sword in the other.

"Honestly? I wouldn't blame you if you did," Raven replied before taking a long, slow sip.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

AND THEN THEY FU-

 **-RD**


	79. Slow Stitches

The idle ticking of the wall clock filled the otherwise silent room with what felt like a deafening noise as the two adults stared each other down, unblinking. Taiyang tightened his grip around the shaft of his trident and wrung his dominant hand, finding it a bit shaky.

"…you _abandoned_ us," Taiyang said quietly, his voice low and barely hiding a furious edge. "You abandoned _me_ , when I needed you most."

"I did," Raven said simply as she set the bottle of wine down upon the coffee table and leaned forward, her hands clasped between her legs as she rested her forearms atop her thighs. "And now, I'm abandoning my tribe, for the same reason I left you."

"Honestly, Raven?" Taiyang spat as he walked a bit farther into the room, keeping a firm grip on his trident as he moved to stand next to the couch across from Raven's. "I don't _care_ what your reasons were. All I care about is the fact that you left not only me, but our _daughter_ , and ran off with some band of criminals out in the woods. Do you have any idea how much that hurt? Do you even know the amount of pain you put Yang through, and the damage you've done to her?"

Raven let out a ragged sigh and ran a hand through her tangled mass of shaggy hair.

"…I've got some idea, yes. I'm not asking for forgiveness- I know I don't deserve it. I came here to tell you what Yang's doing, and what I'm about to do. Once I've said my piece, I'll leave you alone, but I need you to listen to this, for her sake. Please," she finished as she gestured to the furniture across from herself.

Taiyang slowly transitioned to sit upon the couch, and kept his trident held upright beside himself.

"… _fine_. Tell me everything you know."

"Haven Academy was attacked," Raven began, only to watch Taiyang's eyes grow wide. "Yang was there to defend it, and so were Ruby and… Qrow. The school was under siege by the same forces that attacked Beacon- they're led by a woman named Salem, capable of controlling grimm. Salem's agents came to my camp and coerced me into helping her take what she needed from the school. I had no choice but to do what she asked, and… stand against Yang and Ruby."

"You did _what?_ " Taiyang seethed. "Raven, give me one good reason to stay sitting instead of coming over the table and starting something only one of us will walk away from."

"Let me finish," Raven insisted as she narrowed her eyes. "You don't understand what's going on, and how serious this is- Yang and Ruby are _fine_ , and I knew they would be. You raised them well, and Yang has bec-"

" _Don't_ ," Taiyang threatened. "Don't finish that sentence. Don't act like you know what I did for her, or what she's been through. Give me the facts, and _go_."

For once, Raven had the grace to look away as a hot wash of guilt overtook her features. Eventually, she settled for looking down to the carpet as she shook her head and began to speak in a hollow, defeated tone.

"…four 'maidens' capable of magic- _true_ magic, without dust or semblances- exist in Remnant. Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, just like the fairy tale. I _am_ the Spring Maiden," Raven stated as she finally looked up at Taiyang once again. Ethereal fire lashed out from the edges of her eyes, causing Taiyang's to widen in surprise.

"What… _how_ …" the man questioned, while leaning back into the couch cushions.

"…the 'how' isn't important," Raven denied as she dispelled the effect and returned her gaze to the carpet. "What matters right now is what I'm capable of. Each of the four major academies was constructed by Ozpin, each with a vault to hide a relic of incredible power. Each vault requires a Maiden to open it, and Haven was _my_ vault. Salem threatened me, you, my tribe… _everyone_ and everything that matters to me, in order to get me to bring her agent to the relic inside. So… I opened it. I fought and killed her agent, when it was down to just the two of us… and then I ran."

Taiyang furrowed his brows and took his time to parse the implications as best he could.

"…where's the relic now? Where are Yang and Ruby? Why did you…?"

Raven sighed once again and seemed to deflate a bit as her shoulders slumped.

"The relic is… _Yang_ took the relic. She's protecting it and bringing it to General Ironwood in Atlas. She volunteered to transport it to take some heat off me," Raven admitted. "And I let her, because I'm a terrible, selfish person."

"…you know, I've spent a lot of days trying not to believe that," Taiyang offered as he finally brought his trident to rest across his lap. "But to hear it straight from you, even if I'm inclined to agree… I don't know how that makes me feel."

Another long pause occurred, and neither of the two moved as Taiyang merely stared across at the top of Raven's head as she kept her hands clasped to either side of it.

"…neither do I. All I feel right now is regret, and fear. Salem _will_ come for me, regardless of where I go. She wants not just the relics, but absolute power. That means that eventually, I'll become a target… if I'm not one already for killing her disciple."

"Then open a portal to Yang, and you and I can stand with her," Taiyang replied immediately. "We can bolster their defenses and support our daughter like we always should have."

"I've thought about doing that, and… I can't," Raven said as she finally looked back up. "I can't face her, and doing that would be suicide. Salem is going after the relics, Tai… and we don't know if Atlas is next. If she goes for Vacuo and actually _secures_ that relic while we're busy defending the other one… there may be no stopping her."

"…then open a portal and send _me_ to Yang," Taiyang said coldly. "You may not want to stand with her, but I do."

Raven fell silent and picked up the bottle of wine once again. She took a long swig and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, looking utterly miserable.

"…I don't know if Salem _can_ be stopped," Raven admitted. "This all feels like we're delaying the inevitable, and even if you don't believe me when I say this… I don't want to see you get hurt, Tai. I've been around here more than you think, watching you and Yang and wishing I'd made another choice. _Any_ other choice than to just abandon you… but it was too late, and for your own good. It kept you and Yang _safe_ from people who would have hunted you, if they ever found this house. Right now, I'm going to protect you again, even if you don't want me to. I'm _not_ sending you to Atlas to die."

"So what, then?" Taiyang asked angrily. "You're just going to leave me here to die later, and _alone_ , if this Salem woman really _is_ unstoppable? What are _you_ going to do? Just… up and run again, and keep up a chase for as long as you can?"

"I'm going to Vacuo," Raven said coldly as she placed the wine bottle down with a resounding _thud_. "I'm heading out there to tell their headmaster _everything_ and begin fortifying the school. It's about time I did something that will benefit others without hurting people I care about."

"Then I'm coming with you," Taiyang replied immediately.

"… _what?_ " Raven asked, her voice full of worry as she tensed.

"You heard me," Taiyang replied firmly as he swiped the bottle off the table. "If you're heading out there to provide support, and you're not going to let me stand with Yang… then I'll stand with her in spirit. Defending Vacuo _is_ important, in case Salem attacks there next… and I haven't lost my edge. I'm not going for you. I'm going to indirectly help our daughter, and for the people of Remnant. I'm a huntsman, and I'm not about to let petty grudges between us stand in the way of that. Use the shower, borrow a robe, and sleep on the couch tonight. You look like shit and clearly need rest. I'll put on dinner."

Raven stared at Taiyang in disbelief as he drank from the wine bottle and then placed it back in front of her. The man stood up and left his trident upon the couch as he made his way back to the kitchen. Raven sat very still for several minutes as she watched him get to work on preparing food, before she slowly stood up and made her way to the bathroom without a word.

* * *

Blake laid atop her borrowed bed, pillow clasped firmly to her stomach as she stared silently at the wall. Her mind buzzed with a flurry of unwelcome thoughts, and the constant, blending ideas seemed numerous and unpleasant enough to make actual noise within her skull. The faunus' head pounded as she focused on simply breathing, her eyes stinging and raw from what felt like hours of sobbing. She squeezed her pillow a bit tighter as she drew her knees up closer to her chest, only for a knock at the bedroom door to interrupt her thoughts for a brief moment.

" _Blake?_ " Neptune's voice called from the other side of the door. " _You in there? Can I come in?_ "

Oddly enough, Blake felt absolutely nothing in response to the sudden interruption. Though she thought it would make sense to be annoyed, she couldn't even bring herself the energy to deny her friend's request. She merely laid in place and continued to stare, thoroughly unaffected and uninterested. The sound of the doorknob twisting and the door creaking brought about the same absence of response, as did the gentle shutting of the door and the echoes of Neptune's footfalls across the wooden floor.

"…Blake?" the boy asked softly. She could feel his presence standing just behind her at the edge of the bed, though she made no effort to move.

"…I'm okay," she replied. Her voice came out gravelly and hoarse, as though she had almost choked upon the words.

Blake felt herself sink slightly as Neptune sat upon the bed behind her. After several seconds, she felt a warm hand rest gently upon her shoulder.

"…it's okay if you're not," Neptune reassured in a near whisper. "I… don't really understand what's going on, but I saw your face at the table downstairs. I came to check on you bec-"

"Thank you," Blake interrupted, her voice flat. "But really, I'll be fine. I just need a little time, and then I'll be ready to start working."

"Okay," Neptune replied, his voice uncertain. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"

Blake neglected to answer, her mind a numbing blank in contrast to its previous state. She continued to stare silently at the wall for a long while, all too aware that Neptune was still sitting behind her, and that his hand had left her shoulder at some point.

"…Adam Taurus was a monster," Blake said slowly, unsure whether she was trying to convince herself. "He… he was more than the High Leader of the White Fang. He was my mentor. My… first boyfriend, my first _lover_. He _ruined_ me."

Blake's ear twitched as she felt Neptune's weight shift slightly upon the bed, as though the boy had suddenly become uncomfortable. He cleared his throat awkwardly, and Blake heard the distinct sound of nails scratching through hair behind herself.

"I… yeah, I knew bits and pieces, but… so, you're feeling… _something_ … now that he's gone?" Neptune asked.

"…I'm feeling something," Blake repeated with a sniffle. "And I don't know what it is."

"…but it isn't good," Neptune clarified.

"No. No, it isn't," Blake agreed.

An awkward moment passed as Neptune found himself unable to think of anything to say. The boy shifted once again and settled for rubbing at his temples in frustration, instead.

"…Blake, I'm really, _really_ sorry that I'm so shitty at this. I want to help, but I have no idea how."

" _Being here_ helps," Blake reassured as she closed her eyes. "Just being here, offering comfort… I really do appreciate it, Neptune. Don't think that you're inadequate or making a mess of things. This situation is the most awkward I've ever been in, internally. I have no idea how to put what I'm feeling into words, and that isn't your fault."

"…try?" Neptune requested. "I won't judge you. I know that's like the absolute baseline for comforting someone, but it's true. If you want to just talk, I'll listen. I don't mind."

Blake allowed herself a half-smile and blew out a breath through her nose.

"I guess… it just all seems so surreal, and heavy. When Cinnamon said that she would kill him back in Mistral, I felt relieved that I wouldn't have to deal with it personally. I think I always knew that it was either him or me, eventually, and letting her be the one to get rid of him actually took a huge burden off my shoulders. I felt fine with it, when it was just an idea. I honestly thought I would be _happy_ to hear that he was dead," Blake explained.

"…but you're not?" Neptune guessed.

"I… really don't know how I feel, at all, but 'happy' isn't it," Blake admitted. "He abused me, Neptune, in every sense of the word. When things went wrong within the Fang, he would scream until I was terrified and felt like he would attack me in a fit of rage. Once or twice… he actually did. He hit me, every so often. He even forced himself upon me."

Another bout of shifting happened behind Blake, and she could only guess what Neptune might have been doing.

"He… Blake, h-he…?" Neptune questioned, unable to finish his sentence.

"Raped me," Blake finished for him. "More than once. Sun knows."

Neptune didn't reply, nor did he move upon the bed at the revelation.

"…and yet… I still feel sick at the thought that he's finally dead. I thought I would feel _free_. Like someone had finally taken shackles off of my mind, and like all that would ever matter anymore when it came to love was Sun. But… he's still here," Blake said quietly. "Even in death, he'll never leave. I know that now, already. I can't just erase what he did to me from my mind, no matter how much I want to."

"That just makes you an incredible person, Blake," Neptune said in a shaky voice. "You… you have every right to hate him. I-I wouldn't even think twice if you told me that you were overjoyed that he's dead… but you're not. You're keeping those memories and… like… trying to use them for something good, to improve yourself. And even though he did so much to hurt you, you're still sad that he's… yeah. That a life had to be wasted on such anger."

"…I think that's part of it, yes," Blake agreed. "I think… I'm _tired_ , Neptune. I'm so, so tired of watching everyone and everything around me turn inevitably to violence and conflict. I hate seeing myself at the center of so much hatred, bitterness, and suffering. I hate feeling like darkness follows me wherever I go, and I hate being told that I've ruined things… because I feel like that's what I do. I feel like I ruin people."

"You may feel like that right now," Neptune cautioned, "but when you see Sun again… I can tell you personally you've done anything _but_ ruin him. You've made him so happy, Blake…"

"…and he's done the same for me," Blake said with a wet sniffle. "I don't really think there's anything left to say. I just… I need time. I need to get to the point where I feel something other than shame and regret again."

"Yeah," Neptune agreed. "I… could stay, or I could go. Maybe bring you some food? Whatever you need, Blake."

"I'm not hungry," the faunus answered quickly. "But please don't leave."

"I won't," Neptune reassured. A long pause passed, before Neptune cleared his throat once again. "Should I… do you want me to… t-to uh… I could, you know, _cuddle you_ , if that would help? I mean, if that isn't too far. I don't mean it in a pervy way, or l-"

"…please," Blake said softly. "I really need it right now, and I know what you mean. Sun would understand."

Neptune shifted once again upon the bed, and Blake could feel his body heat move closer behind her. A slow, nervous arm gingerly wrapped itself around her as he pressed his chest into her back, and she felt his uncovered flesh against her bare shoulders and nightie.

"Are you… still just wearing those stupid boxers?" Blake deadpanned as her feline ears perked up and she raised a brow.

" _Hey!_ " Neptune whined. "I came straight here after filling Amaya in about what's been going on, because you looked like you needed a friend! I didn't have time to get dressed!"

Despite her misery, Blake chuckled softly before heaving a small sigh.

"…thank you, Neptune. I did need a friend… and you're an incredible one. I'm sorry for being so difficult."

"You're not difficult, you're just…" Neptune fished for a descriptor, only to come up with nothing. "…you're kinda difficult sometimes, yeah."

"I know," Blake admitted with a subtle smile. "Still… thank you. If you ever need anything, I'll be there for you. I promise."

"Thanks. Let's just hang out for a while, until you feel ready to take on the day," Neptune suggested as he gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Yes," Blake agreed. "Let's."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Have a second chapter in as many days to make up for the semi-long gaps that have been occurring. Sorry for not updating as often as I used to- juggling this, _Arboretum_ , planning out new stories, being sick, and dealing with several people in my family and friend circle coming down with Coronavirus has been a little much, lately. Still- I'll try to get back to speedier updates.

 **-RD**


	80. To the Skies

Sun kept his eyes dead ahead as he continued walking back toward the docks. Once again, he lagged behind the procession of the Ace Ops, though in contrast to their trip to Pietro Poledina's office, he said nothing to anyone throughout the journey. The mechanical noises of Pietro's chair behind him only served to intensify his burgeoning headache, and it wasn't until Weiss rested a hand upon his shoulder that Sun blinked and let his mind come off of autopilot as he looked sideways to her.

"…are you alright?" she asked as she dropped her hand back down to her side. "You look miserable right now… and every time you're not talking and putting on a show for others, lately. We're all noticing it, Sun."

"Yeah, well, I'm running on fumes right now," Sun admitted. "Not only that, but… this is it. We're headed for Ironwood, and we're about to find out what's going to happen to us for the foreseeable future. And… I'm our leader, responsible for making decisions and saying the right things to him. I think I'm gonna hurl."

"You'll do fine," Weiss reassured. "We're _all_ behind you, Sun, no matter what you decide to say or do. If it comes down to the idea that remaining in Atlas isn't the best course of action… then we'll follow you anywhere."

"…yeah. Thanks," Sun offered as the docks came into view.

Two large planes awaited them in the massive parking lot just beyond the beach, as did a familiar trio of women standing just before the vehicles. Clover picked up his pace and his fellow Ace Ops moved to join him as he made a hasty approach, his voice loud and firm. He quickly handed the relic of knowledge backward to Marrow, who lagged behind and gave it to Pietro while using his body to shield the handoff from view. The older man tucked the relic beside himself in his mechanical chair, and used his arm to cover it entirely as they all approached the platinum blonde woman with the crossbow upon her arm.

"Robyn Hill, this is now a matter of the Atlesian military, and dealing with classified information and materials. You no longer have authorization to be here," Clover warned as he stood directly before her. Robyn's facial expression quickly turned to one of contempt, and she braced her hands upon her hips.

" _Excuse me?_ " the woman replied in a hostile tone as she gestured toward Sun. "We were here to help defend Mantle, and now, suddenly, we're not even allowed to ask who these people are, or why they're with you? I'm not expecting full clearance, _Clover_ , but give me _something_. The people are going to want answers, and if General Ironwood stays completely silent as usual, public opinion of him will fall even further."

"Excuse me," Weiss interrupted as she moved ahead of the rest of the group and stood next to Clover. "May I ask who you are, exactly? We've all been wondering about your role here, and we're incredibly grateful for your help… even _if_ the Ace Ops feel otherwise. I'm Weiss Schnee."

" _I know_ ," Robyn replied, her voice full of venom. She took a long, deep breath through her nose before blowing it out and shaking her hands free of nervous energy. After a short internal battle, she offered her hand to Weiss, and the girl accepted it. "Robyn Hill. I'm running against your father in the election."

Weiss' eyes widened in horror as her hand fell limp in Robyn's grasp.

"The… he's… _what?_ "

"…there's an empty seat on the council of Atlas," Clover explained as he shook his head. "Your _father_ is in the running to occupy it, as is Miss Hill."

Quite suddenly, Weiss tightened her grip upon Robyn's hand, earning back her attention.

"… _do not let him win_ ," Weiss insisted. "I will do _anything_ in my power to support your victory over him."

Robyn's eyes widened as Weiss let her hand fall. Gradually, her forced neutral expression turned to a smile, and she nodded.

"…well. That's… not at all what I expected to hear from you. Thank you, Miss Schnee- I'll make sure to do my best not to give him an inch."

"My father is a _snake_ ," Weiss spat. "I want nothing more than to see him fail here."

"Huh," Clover interjected with an amused smirk. "Then maybe you and I will get along, after all. Still- Miss Hill, there's only so much I'm allowed to say, here."

"Then say it," Robyn insisted as her voice grew cold once again. "Give me something to say to the people, and we'll step aside."

"Tell them that there was a grimm attack at the docks," Marrow offered as he stepped forward.

" _Amin_ ," Clover warned as he gave the faunus a dangerous look. Marrow ignored it and continued to speak.

"Tell them that we worked together to push back the wave, along with a group of volunteer citizens, and that the Atlestian military took care of the larger threat at sea. They don't need to know that these people are from outside of Solitas."

" _Marrow Amin_ ," Clover repeated, while turning to face his colleague. "This isn't your place. Do you see Harriet or Elm speaking up and volunteering information?"

"…was anything he said unreasonable or classified?" Weiss cut in, folding her arms as she moved to stand next to Marrow. "The people at _least_ deserve to know those facts. He didn't do any damage with that information."

"…and he didn't say much of substance, anyway," Robyn pointed out with a heavy sigh. " _Fine_. Thank you all the same, Marrow. We'll get going, but first- Miss Schnee, may I have your scroll information?"

Clover bristled, but Weiss turned away from him and waved Robyn and her subordinates over to the side, away from him as she withdrew her scroll from her pocket.

"… _alright_ ," Clover said, his annoyance clear in his tone as he turned to address the crowd before him. "Corsac, Dr. Polendina, and Hope- you're with me. I want one of the Aces with the crew from Argus, in the other transport."

"I'll go," Marrow volunteered immediately. The faunus wasted no time in hopping into the side door of the waiting plane, before his superior could deny him.

"…then it's settled. Elm. Harriet. Let's go," Clover finished as the remaining Aces, Corsac, Pietro, Maria, and Hope moved for the other plane. Sun, Yang, Ilia, and Jaune moved to follow Marrow, and Weiss brought up the rear and jogged to catch up after speaking briefly with Robyn.

"I've got her info. I think we should speak to her again in private, sometime soon," Weiss offered to Sun as she climbed up into the transport.

"So do I," the boy agreed as he offered a hand and helped pull Weiss up into the plane. "Anyone who has the best interests of the people in mind deserves our support."

"…especially when the competition is my father," Weiss finished as she sat down next to Sun within the plane's central chamber.

"…be careful," Marrow warned in a cautious tone from his place sitting on the bench on the opposite wall. He sat alone, while Sun, Weiss, and Yang occupied the bench across from him, and Ilia and Jaune shared a smaller one against the perpendicular wall. "Robyn Hill _is_ a better option than Jacques Schnee, but she does push too hard for information she isn't entitled to, sometimes."

"Hey, speaking of," Yang said loudly as the plane began a straight vertical ascent, "why's your boss such an absolute _dick?_ "

Marrow visibly cringed as his shoulders slumped and his tail stopped its gentle wagging.

"He… Clover is under a lot of pressure and has a lot to consider. He doesn't _mean_ to come off that way…"

"That may be true, but so are we," Weiss offered. " _We_ are not acting hostile and unfriendly, even though we're being threatened with potential arrest. He treated you like dirt."

"I know," Marrow said quietly. He sighed, before looking up at Sun from across the chamber. "And I'm grateful to all of you for being so flexible, despite everything. What did you tell him in Dr. Polendina's office…?"

"Everything, basically. The truth, like you asked," Sun replied.

"… _everything?_ " Ilia questioned. "He's aware of what happened at Haven, and afterward?"

"More or less," Sun clarified. "I won't run through it all again now, since we're about to fill in General Ironwood, but… yeah. Clover knows what's up."

"Good," Jaune offered as he leaned his head back into the metallic wall of the hold. "The less head games we're playing, the better. This is all so big and scary…"

"It is," Marrow confirmed, "but so far as I can tell, you're all going about it the right way and handling it wonderfully. Things should get better after we talk to the general as a group. I can't imagine that you'll be in any sort of trouble, after helping us at the docks."

"…you seem young, for the Ace Ops," Ilia commented. "How green _are_ you, exactly?"

Marrow shrank down a bit, looking conflicted.

"I'm… 26, and this is near the beginning of my third year with the Aces. Why?"

"…because you're _really_ naïve," Ilia said with a shrug. "You _can't imagine_ that we're about to be screwed over, when you're transporting two former members of the White Fang? It might be the best move to give Ironwood the relic, sure, but I don't trust him beyond securing it in the vault. I don't trust _anyone_ with the sort of power he has."

"Ilia," Sun said cautiously. "Cool it. Please."

"…what was it that Robyn meant when she said that General Ironwood's approval ratings were falling?" Weiss asked as she looked back over to Marrow. "I thought he was beloved…?"

"…he was," Marrow agreed before coughing lightly into his hand. "Lately, though, he's… I'm not really sure what I'm allowed to say, but the flow of information from Atlas down into Mantle isn't quite what it should be, in the eyes of a lot of people. Mantle is feeling cut off, and in some cases, lied to. The general _isn't_ lying to them, of course, but he has to dance around the issue of Salem's existence. It's getting difficult, and sometimes, that means coming off as short, or disinterested, or…"

Yang snorted and shrugged.

"So, red tape is making Ironwood look like a massive douchebag to people who aren't inclined to trust authority. Makes sense."

Marrow pulled an uneven face and gave Yang a sorrowful nod.

"That's… about the size of it, yes."

" _Great_ ," Ilia said as she rolled her eyes. "So, what are the chances that he's going to treat us the same way? Here we are, putting our asses on the line to make this work, and we might get a pat on the head and the cold shoulder?"

Marrow squirmed in his seat and bit his lip.

"…it's very possible…"

"…I won't let that happen," Sun resolved. "Do you all trust me to take the lead?"

"You _know_ we do," Yang said simply. "Do your thing, and don't back down if we're fed a line of bullshit. We'll be there to support you the entire way."

"What she said," Weiss agreed. "I'll interject as needed on the subject of my father, but beyond that… whatever you decide, I'm with you."

"Don't even need to ask me," Ilia pointed out. "You've got this, big bro."

"…I'm in too deep now to just walk away," Jaune offered. "And I believe in you, too."

Marrow offered Sun a smile, and a small nod.

"…so do I."

Sun smiled despite himself and laughed lightly as he returned the nod.

"Well… okay, then. In a few minutes, we'll see how this all shakes out."

* * *

Sun kept his shoulders tense as he once again found himself in a large procession of people. They moved swiftly through the clean and featureless upper halls of Atlas Academy, and no one dared to say a word. The walls were a sterile white and lit by high, intensely bright blue lights, and the floors were a cold, polished tile. The entire setup from the lobby to the elevator reminded Sun of some factory in a science fiction movie, and he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something just a little _off_ about the whole place as they approached a massive, bisected sliding door at the end of a large lobby.

"…alright," Clover said sternly as he turned to face the crowd. "Hope and I are going in, along with our new arrivals. Harriet, Elm, and Marrow- keep an eye on Corsac, Dr. Polendina, and Miss Calavera. I'll fill you in afterward."

"Yes sir," Harriet replied with a crisp salute before gesturing to one of the plush couches in the circular waiting room. "Go ahead, and don't try anything funny."

" _Don't try anything funny_ ," Maria mocked as she hobbled over to the couch and hopped up onto it. "Young lady, if I were in my prime…"

"We're just doing our jobs, ma'am," Marrow offered with a disarming smile as he moved to sit beside her.

Clover merely rolled his eyes and turned toward the door, before detaching the relic of knowledge from his belt and holding it down at his side. The man swiped an I.D. card through a reader beside the gigantic portal, and the doors slid open to reveal another large, circular chamber with a desk at the far end and a wall of windows behind it. Clover walked into the chamber first, with Hope, Sun, and his group following close behind.

General James Ironwood sat behind his desk, watching the group intently with his fingers steepled in front of his mouth as his elbows rested atop the furniture's surface. His eyes were narrowed, his expression was cold and calculating, and in place of his clean-shaven and chiseled jawline was a closely cropped, thick, black beard that extended down to his neck. He wore a uniform of white, blue, and red, and at his side stood Winter Schnee, in her own complimentary outfit.

"Winter…?" Weiss said breathlessly as she stepped forward in front of the crowd.

"…Weiss," the woman replied uneasily as her eyes lit up ever so slightly. She stepped forward as Weiss moved to meet her in the center of the room. "Your tip about the incoming leviathan saved lives. I'm proud to s-"

Winter stopped speaking immediately as Weiss encircled her in a tight hug. The smaller girl rested her head against Winter's chest, and the older Schnee let out a sigh before finally relenting and resting her head atop Weiss' for a brief moment.

"…I missed you," Weiss said softly. "And I'm here, now. To help."

"…welcome home," Winter replied before breaking the hug and moving to stand on the side of the room with Weiss, between Sun's group and Ironwood's desk.

The general offered the pair a small smile, before movement from the other end of the room caught his attention. Clover closed the distance to the large desk and deposited the relic of knowledge atop it, causing General Ironwood to stand up and lean over the lamp as he began to inspect it with wide eyes.

"…so it's true," he said with an aura of reverence in his voice. "And you really did bring it here…"

A long moment passed as the man inspected the lamp, before finally walking around his desk and standing before the assembled teens as Clover took up a place at his side.

"…you have my profound thanks for your service to Atlas, and really- all of Remnant. I remember most of you from the Vytal festival, though, I'll be honest, I… don't remember any of your names, beyond Weiss."

"Sun Wukong," the boy offered as he stepped forward. "I'm… I guess I'm leading us, right now, and I'll be happy to answer all of your questions, Sir."

"Yang Xiao Long," came a follow up as she stepped forward. "And we need to talk about the Vytal festival, after everything else is squared away."

"Jaune Arc," the boy offered with a small bow, though he remained in place.

"…Ilia Amitola," the faunus said with a heavy sigh as she avoided the general's eyes. "I wasn't there, and I was with the White Fang at the time."

"But she's cool," Sun added quickly. "I mean, she's one of us. Fighting for Remnant. She isn't…"

General Ironwood raised a hand for silence, before clasping it with the other behind himself.

"There will be time for all of that later, both involving the Fang and the tournament, but for now… we desperately need to discuss what you know, and your intentions moving forward."

"We know a lot," Sun began. "We know who Salem is, and some of us have seen her… or an illusion of her, projected by Emerald Sustrai within Haven Academy. We were all there to defend it, and we worked together with Cinnamon Shoal, the second in command of the White Fang at the time, to protect the school. She sabotaged the bombs intended to destroy the building alongside Ilia, and allowed us to get inside to fight with Salem's agents while the rest of us went after Adam Taurus."

"…then let's start small," General Ironwood suggested. "Adam Taurus. What do you know about his current status, and the level of threat he poses to us now?"

"He's… dead," Sun said bluntly. "I… Weiss and I killed him."

Silence befell the room for a tense moment, as Winter rested a gentle hand upon Weiss' shoulder. Clover raised a brow, his features marked with intrigue.

"Adam Taurus is _dead?_ And _you_ managed to kill him?"

"We did," Weiss agreed. "Cinnamon betrayed us and sent him after us. Specifically to target _me_."

Winter's grip upon her sister's shoulder tightened, and she locked eyes with the general.

"Hope- pull everything you can about Cinnamon Shoal and fill me in after this conversation comes to a close," the man instructed, only to earn a nod of affirmation.

"Scanning all available databases," the android replied as she stared straight ahead, seeming to ignore everyone else in the room.

"She's a threat," Sun confirmed. "She _did_ help us out and was working to prevent Adam's plot to apparently knock Atlas out of the sky, but… she can't be trusted. She lied to us… and she knows about Salem, too. We told her everything, before we knew she was… working toward her own interests."

General Ironwood closed his eyes and pinched his thumb and forefinger against his temples before opening them again and taking a deep breath.

"…Salem… is not a subject to be taken lightly," the man began to explain. "If the people find out from the wrong source, or the information is delivered the wrong way… it will incite mass panic, and chaos. Cinnamon is now the High Leader, I'm assuming?"

"She is," Ilia confirmed with a nod.

"Then she has a platform to do exactly that, if she isn't found, and dealt with," General Ironwood stated. "Another new issue that needs to be resolved. Tell me about what happened at Haven."

"I'll take this one," Yang offered before giving Sun a pleading look. The faunus nodded, and Yang gestured toward the lamp. "My mom- Raven Branwen- is the Spring Maiden. She worked alongside Cinder Fall- who is now dead- to unlock the vault and take the relic. I stepped in and took the relic voluntarily, since she wanted nothing to do with it."

"Cinder is dead?" General Ironwood asked, mirroring Clover's impressed expression. "You're certain? You killed her?"

"Raven killed her," Yang corrected. "And I'm certain. That about sums it up."

"There is… one other thing, that I don't think anyone's mentioned yet," Jaune added. "Professor Ozpin's alive. He has a new… 'host', I guess you'd call it. He was traveling with us."

"Oz is…?" General Ironwood said softly, before his expression and tone turned cold. "But he isn't _here?_ Why wouldn't he come with you, to help? Where is the rest of Team RWBY?"

"That's… that one's my fault," Sun replied as he scratched at the back of his head. "I devised a plan to divide and conquer, and Professor Ozpin went along with it. We came here, to transport the relic. Blake Belladonna, Neptune Vasilias, Qrow Branwen, and Kali Belladonna are in Kuo Kuana, rebuilding and working to found the Black Claw. Adam Taurus murdered Blake's father, and they're… trying to counteract the White Fang, and create a fifth kingdom in Menagerie. Ruby Rose, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Sage Ayana, and Oscar Pine- Professor Ozpin's new body- are headed to Patch to find Taiyang Xiao Long, and hopefully, Raven. The Professor thinks he and Ruby can convince Raven to join us, and teleport everybody here to stand as a united front."

General Ironwood made an uncomfortable noise in reply.

"That… is a dangerous and unfortunate move… though for acting completely on your own, and given the fact that Ozpin _agreed_ to it… I can't fault you," he admitted. "Is there anything else you believe I should know?"

Sun briefly turned and looked over his companions. Each of them either shrugged or shook their head, and Sun turned back to face General Ironwood with a resolute nod.

"That's everything, Sir. Everything except the White Fang prisoner out in the lobby."

"The General has already been briefed," Clover replied coldly. "We'll deal with him after this."

"And on that note… I'm going to make you all an offer," General Ironwood began in a tired voice. "You have all done well- _incredibly_ well, all things considered, in coming here and informing me. I saw you all stand at Beacon and defend it when the odds were just as bleak as they are now, and I commend you for your bravery and dedication to the career of hunter. That being said… looking at you now, I see something else. I see my own reflection in each of you, and I can't in good faith demand that you continue down this path. You're exhausted. Injured. Some of you, I can tell, are barely holding on to hope. I would like to offer you an 'out', as it were- in reward for your service, you may have a place here, at Atlas Academy. Full room and board, instruction, or simply… a space to live out your lives. If you choose for this to be the end of your path in defense of Remnant, I will not hold it against you."

"With all due respect," Ilia replied, "I think I speak for all of us when I say _fuck that_. We're in this, and we're doing it together. Or am I wrong?"

Sun gave his companions a brief glance to see their reactions. Yang smiled wide at Ilia's words, while Jaune had a smirk of his own hidden behind a hand. Weiss looked utterly mortified, as Winter glared at the chameleon girl.

"…she _is_ speaking for all of us," Sun reassured. "We're here, and we'll fight for Remnant. We'll fight for _you_."

"Then there _is_ one demand that I _will_ make," the general warned. "From here on, while I'll be happy to hear your opinions and take your advice into account- further decisions regarding Salem, Atlas, and the good of Remnant will come from _me_. Decisions like splitting our resources and working with the White Fang were reckless, dangerous, and could easily have compromised our entire effort. If you want to provide your assistance- and it _is_ assistance that we desperately need- I need to know that you'll fall in line and carry out orders as you receive them."

"We will," Sun replied quickly. "We're in this as a team, and we all want the same thing. I… sorry, for screwing things up."

Ilia shifted uncomfortably, and again looked elsewhere in the room.

"…you needn't apologize, Sun- you did what you thought was right," General Ironwood confirmed. "I will still provide you housing here, near to the Ace Ops and away from the other students. There will be other benefits that come in time, but I'll need to prepare some paperwork and pull some strings before I can offer them. For now, I want to tell you about the plan, moving forward."

The man turned and walked back to his desk, only to pick up a remote. Upon pressing a button, shutters slid down to cover the windows around the room's perimeter, and a projector slid up from the center of the floor. In the darkness, a holographic projection of Amity Coliseum manifested and began to rotate slowly in midair as Clover made his way for the door.

"I'll go and fill in the rest of the Aces. Hope- come with me, and keep an eye on Corsac and the other two."

"Affirmative," the girl responded as she seemed to snap back to life and moved to follow Clover. "I'll have a full report on Cinnamon Shoal upon my return."

"Very well," General Ironwood replied while the doors slid open and his subordinate disappeared into the hall. Once the doors shut themselves once again and the room fell back into darkness, he gestured to the hologram. "Priority One is to convert Amity Coliseum into a sort of global CCT, in order to reestablish communication throughout Remnant."

"We can _do_ that?" Jaune asked in disbelief.

"That's… that's brilliant," Weiss commented as she watched the hologram develop a domed roof and elevated tower atop itself. "We could stand against Salem as a united front, if that happens."

"…and reestablish contact with the other groups," Ilia added with a sly smile as she moved forward to nudge Sun's arm with her elbow. She snorted lightly as she watched his tail twist and flick behind himself in excitement.

"We… yeah, we could!" Sun agreed.

"But doing so would require a _ton_ of gravity dust," Yang pointed out. "Right?"

"It would," General Ironwood confirmed. "We need to elevate the coliseum higher than even Atlas to send out a global signal… and to do so requires far more dust than we currently have access to. I have a plan for that, and it's something that all of you could certainly assist with."

"Can it not be mined from beneath Atlas itself?" Weiss asked. "Cut off in large quantities by airships, and quickly affixed to the coliseum?"

"It can't," General Ironwood lamented. "Because Atlas doesn't _use_ gravity dust to stay afloat- what you see beneath the city is synthetic, and a mere prop. It uses the relic of creation as a perpetual power source to stay airborne. The staff is only capable of sustaining a single creation at a time, and for longer than I've been alive, it's been used for that purpose."

The assembled teens stared at General Ironwood with wide eyes and shocked expressions as they tried to process the information.

"I… the entire city runs off a _relic?_ " Weiss asked.

"It does," General Ironwood confirmed. "All power in Atlas comes from the relic, and we rerouted it into a system to keep the city afloat, among other things."

"…then what does the relic of knowledge do?" Sun asked. "Do you know?"

"…Professor Ozpin didn't tell you?" General Ironwood asked, only for the faunus to shake his head. "Then it's better if I _show_ you, at a later date. For now, though, we need to focus on the CCT. Once it's up and running, I'll be addressing the world about Salem, and we move into the phase of coordinating an attack on her stronghold. I'm done running and hiding. This is going to turn into a final push, for all of Remnant."

Sun tensed slightly as he watched the hologram disappear and the lights in the room come back up.

"…okay. Then what do you need us to do, right now?"

"First, I need you to rest," the man replied. "I need you in top form by early next week, so we can begin procuring large quantities of gravity dust in secret. You're taking the rest of the day- and the next few days- off, in order to collect yourselves. Lieutenant Schnee- pick out an assortment of rooms on this floor for them, and show them our facilities."

"Sir," Winter replied with a firm nod before heading toward the door.

"Thank you," Sun offered with a small nod. "We'll do our best."

"Thank _you_ ," General Ironwood replied. "Let's hope that this is the beginning of a long and productive partnership. I'll be in contact, both through the Aces and in person."

Sun offered a quick salute and moved to follow Winter, while his friends fell in line. Ilia lingered for a moment longer and eyed the general with suspicion before turning to follow with a silent shiver.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

It's a triple. Next update will likely be next weekend, because now I'm exhausted. I've been dreading this chapter ever since Volume 7 content began, given the sheer amount of information that needed to be conveyed in both directions. That being said, I'm happy with how it came out. Hopefully that's true for all of you!

 **-RD**


	81. Boundaries

Sun's head seemed to throb in time with each click of Winter's heels as the woman made her way down the brightly illuminated hall ahead of him. Weiss walked alongside her older sister, though her heels landed in their own rhythm, adding a staccato element to the unwelcome noise and making the hairs on the back of Sun's neck stand on end. He brought a hand up to rub at his forehead as he grimaced and closed his eyes to try to squeeze away the pain. A light knock on the arm from a cold, metallic fist caused Sun to open his eyes, and he shook his head to chase away the stars in his vision as he gave Yang a weary look.

"Hang in there, big guy. We're almost in the clear, and the hard part's over for today," the blonde insisted. "You did good back there. A lot better than I would've done."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short. You filled him in about Raven and the relic pretty concisely," Sun pointed out. "I appreciate you contributing without losing your cool."

"Yeah, well, the losing my cool part will come later, once I can get that asshole in the motorized chair alone," Yang threatened. "I'm not letting that go… and I'm also not letting my status as a criminal from the Vytal tournament stand."

"I'm sure Ironwood will help clear that up," Sun replied. "Now that we're certain of what went on, I'm sure Ironwood can pull security footage from Haven that shows Mercury and Emerald doing their thing. Or at least… I _hope_ he can."

"Putting a lot of faith in that man," Ilia said coldly from her place behind the pair. "Too much, if you ask me."

"What's wrong with trusting General Ironwood?" Jaune asked in a curious tone. "He's giving us a place to stay, at the very least."

Ilia rolled her eyes and huffed, before blowing a hanging strand of hair out of her face.

"Yeah, that's all well and good, until he starts demanding things from us that we're unwilling to do. Were you paying attention to the language he was using? He was very _safe_ , and you handed him direct control over us in a heartbeat, Sun."

"That's… not what I got out of it," Sun protested as he turned and began to walk backwards while facing Ilia. "He _did_ say he wants to hear our thoughts on things, and I don't think he's the type to just… push us around and be unreasonable."

"Really? And where do you think Clover got the stick in his ass from?" Ilia asked as she narrowed her eyes. "He probably pulled it right out of Ironwood's and shoved it up his own. Seems to me like he's second in command, and that doesn't bode well for us."

" _I_ am second in command," came a cold voice from behind Sun. He turned to find Winter glaring daggers at Ilia as she stood before a metallic door with Weiss at her side. "Clover would be third, and his attitude comes from the fact that he takes his job and any orders he receives from General Ironwood _very_ seriously. So do I, for that matter, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would refrain from criticizing him in my presence. You may think whatever you'd like about his intentions, but the general is under a _lot_ of pressure- far more than you know. His words are safe and calculated for a _reason_."

"With all due respect, ma'am," Jaune began, "I think… I think we're all just exhausted, and to Ilia's credit, she's been… well, her leaders haven't exactly been trustworthy or reliable. Adam and Cinnamon both turned on her, and I'm s-"

"I can defend _myself,_ " Ilia insisted as she folded her arms across her chest and took a defiant step forward. "But he's _right_ , and I don't want to hear that 'that's what I get for allying with the White Fang.' At least, for a while, we _accomplished_ something. We stood for something. I had no other options after your father's company cost me my parents, so don't even _think_ about judging me and my decisions," she finished, her voice trembling along with her shoulders.

Winter drew in a long, echoing breath through her nostrils as she looked down at the smaller girl with narrowed eyes.

"…Winter, please don't be too hard on her," Weiss requested as she tried unsuccessfully to catch her sister's eye. "Ilia is a good person, and I've seen how dedicated she is t-"

"I, too, can defend myself," Winter interrupted as she raised a hand in Weiss' direction to cut her off. "Ilia Amitola- it isn't my place to judge you, nor would I, given the circumstances. While the White Fang is clearly our enemy, I can understand your reasoning for joining them, and knowing the general as I do… so will he, once you two speak privately. As for my _father_ ," she spat, "our _only_ connection is blood. I left the Schnee dynasty in all but name the moment I turned 18, and never looked back. We don't speak, he's cut me off financially, and I've pledged my life to the Atlesian Military over his pathetic little stolen empire. The loss of your parents falls squarely upon his shoulders and his _alone_ , and you have my sincerest apologies for your circumstances. I hope he pays dearly for his crimes, and I'll be right beside you when the time comes to administer the justice he so clearly deserves."

Ilia merely stared for a moment, her expression softening before she finally looked away, her cheeks tinted slightly pink.

"…thanks…"

Winter upturned her nose slightly before turning to face the door and swiping a keycard in the reader beside it. The metallic halves slid open with a shuffling sound, and the woman made a beckoning motion with her hand before folding them both behind herself as she continued to walk.

"Try to remember that while Atlas may be the military and technology capital of Remnant, its residents are still _people_. We aren't _all_ as cold and unfeeling as we may seem. Weiss is a good example of that, that I'm sure you're familiar with."

Weiss offered her friends a sheepish smile as Sun returned the gesture and gave her a nod.

"You've got that right," Jaune chimed in. "Weiss has been amazingly helpful, and a great friend. We all appreciate having her around."

"Oh, _stop_ ," Weiss order with a blush as she once again moved to stand at Winter's side. "Really- it's nothing."

Winter rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Learn to take a compliment, Weiss. Anyway, this hall is where you'll all be staying. I'll have keycards made and bring them around to you shortly, but until then, don't leave your rooms. Otherwise, you'll be locked out."

The woman gestured to a long hall, within which were several other sliding doors. Once again, she swiped her keycard into a reader, and waited for the door to open before stepping inside and waving the crew along. Inside of the door was a rather spacious penthouse apartment setup, with a central living room and four doors. Two were beside each other, another was alongside the kitchenette on the perpendicular wall, and a final, double-paneled door stood near to the entrance in the small hallway leading to the living room.

"These apartments are where you'll be staying. Each has two bedrooms, a bathroom, main room, kitchenette, and closet. Basic food, clothing, and other provisions are already here, but customize the spaces as you see fit. The Aces and I live in similar setups in the opposite hallway, though they are slightly different, and upgraded. Divide yourselves accordingly," Winter ordered.

"I guess it would make the most sense for Jaune and I to take this one," Sun offered. "With us being guys, and all?"

"Doesn't really bother me either way. I'm no prude," Yang said with a shrug. "But the fact of the matter is, these are built for two, and there are five of us. That means one of us is left living alone, no matter how we slice it."

"I'll be fine alone," Weiss offered as she folded her hands before herself while keeping her expression neutral. "I mean… unless someone else would prefer to be solo. I'm honestly… somewhat used to it."

The group paused to let anyone else volunteer, before Yang raised a brow.

"Are you offering that because you _want_ to be alone, or because you don't see another option? Honestly, I'd be alright with the three of us sharing, while I crash on the couch. You don't have to take one for the team."

"We could rotate the couch," Ilia suggested. "Seriously- none of us should be alone, in times like these… and moving forward, things are probably just going to get worse. Let's all bunk across the hall from the boys, and we'll figure it out. Not like we can't put a bed in the living room, if it comes down to it."

Weiss' eyes lit up at the suggestion, and she nodded softly.

"I would absolutely be willing to rotate. Thank you…"

"…offered an Atlesian penthouse in the most expensive building in all of Remnant all to _yourself_ , and you're more interested in running over capacity and having someone sleep on the couch," Winter said in disbelief. "Unbelievable."

"Hey, as far as I'm concerned, we're practically family at this point," Sun said, only to earn nods from his companions.

"Yeah," Jaune echoed. "We're here for each other, even if it means things get a little awkward, from time to time."

Winter offered the boy a small smirk, before shaking her head as she turned to leave the apartment.

"…then maybe there's hope for us yet. I'll return shortly with your keycards, and information for you regarding the remainder of the week. Ladies, this way. I'll unlock your room for you."

Sun watched the girls disappear back into the hallway, before letting out a massive sigh and allowing his shoulders to droop.

"Well, man. Time to explore, and make this place feel lived in."

Jaune merely nodded, and turned to walk deeper into the penthouse.

* * *

Sun lounged upon the couch in the central living room, a pillow over his face and his shirt, shorts, and Ghira's armor discarded next to the furniture in a heap. Despite covering his face, the boy kept his eyes closed anyway as he tried to desperately fight off his migraine. While the pills he had found in the kitchenette had certainly taken the edge off, a lingering, painful buzz remained in the front of his skull. The penthouse had been quiet outside the muffled noise of the shower echoing through the bathroom wall, though that, too, was suddenly silenced. Sun shifted slightly upon the couch as he waited in silence, and didn't bother getting up as he heard the bathroom door open.

"All yours, man," Jaune called out into the room. "Sun? You still here?"

"On the couch!" he called as he raised a hand to be visible over the backrest.

"Oh! I… didn't wake you, did I?" Jaune asked as he plodded around the perimeter of the living room.

Sun slowly dragged the pillow down from atop his face and looked over at Jaune with a weary expression, only to find the boy wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. His blonde hair hung in damp curtains almost down to his shoulders, and his build was slim, though somewhat muscular. Jaune was also blushing furiously and looking away, which Sun suspected had something to do with the fact that he was only wearing a short pair of boxers.

"Nah. I'm so tired, I don't think I _could_ sleep," Sun explained as he dragged himself up into a sitting position. He lowered the pillow atop his crotch to provide additional covering, and then offered the other boy a shrug. "I've just been… thinking, I guess. Or trying not to think. Letting my mind wind down, but it doesn't seem to want to stop spinning."

"Yeah, I get that. _All_ of that," Jaune replied before hesitantly walking to the couch and sitting beside Sun. "I know that Ruby and I weren't exactly thrilled with the team placements back at Qrow's house, but… you're doing a great job with all of this. Really."

"You guys say that enough that I'm almost starting to believe it," Sun explained as he set the pillow down and stood up into an overhead stretch. The scar on his torso ached as he twisted from side to side, and he found himself rubbing it without really thinking about the action. "I'm just trying to keep us all safe and sane. And… maybe happy, too, if we can get there."

"Well, General Ironwood _does_ want us to take a few days off," Jaune pointed out. "I, for one, fully intend on taking him up on that offer."

"Yeah, me too," Sun agreed as he walked around the couch and headed toward the bathroom. "I will admit, though, it feels nice having a definite, concrete goal with no questions about what lies at the end of it. Gather gravity dust, get the coliseum floating. Simple enough, even if it ends up being a huge pain in the ass."

"I'm sure it will be, with our luck," Jaune replied with a shrug. "You showering?"

"Yeah," Sun replied as he opened the bathroom door. "There are some spare Academy uniforms in the closet, in all different sizes. Knock yourself out."

Sun closed the door behind himself and shuffled out of his boxers immediately. He let the cloth garment drop off harmlessly before stepping out of it and walking up to the mirror, which was still partially covered in fog. The boy gave his face a cursory glance, only to find that his eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles beneath them, his nose was still slightly tilted and ugly as ever, and his formerly scattered patches of stubble had formed into a full, light, chinstrap beard.

"…priority one tomorrow- buy a razor," Sun muttered to himself before shaking his head and heading for the shower. He opened the adjoining cabinet and grabbed himself a washcloth and towel, before slinging the latter over the nearby waiting rack. Then, he slid the glass door shut behind himself and sighed heavily as he turned on the water, only to close his eyes as immediate warmth cascaded down into his hair and began to work its way down his body. He let out another sigh of content as he felt himself become entirely drenched, and then got to work on cleaning himself.

Somehow, despite the clear safety of the shower and pleasantly soothing aspect of the water, Sun found himself unable to truly relax. Try as he might, the boy couldn't fight back the tension and anxiety that recent events had placed squarely upon his shoulders, and he found himself growing more and more frustrated with the notion. After having a quick internal debate, he closed his eyes and redirected his thoughts to a more pleasant place. Slowly, he curled his tail around the front of his body and let the tip begin to rub lightly against himself as he continued to use his hands to scrub elsewhere.

 _He could see her easily, and with a little more effort, the memory of their room at Qrow's house became crystal clear in his mind. He could remember the date and time, as well as her every word to him as she slowly climbed atop his waist to straddle him, her rear pressing teasingly against his stiff lower body._

 _"Just relax," Blake insisted as she curled her fingers into the flesh of his chest, digging her nails in and leaving small indents. "Do what feels natural."_

 _He leaned up to kiss her, only for Blake to artfully dodge his efforts and drag her tongue up along the side of his neck and around to his cheek. A rough shove brought his back down to the mattress once again before Blake lowered her head and placed her mouth around one of his pecs to bite lightly at the flesh._

 _"B-blake," Sun said breathlessly as he rested a hand upon her shoulder._

 _"Shh," the girl replied as she slid her chin down his body, trailing a clawed hand alongside it. "You're mine, now."_

 _Sun couldn't find it within himself to protest as Blake ran her tongue along a part of him that a girl had never touched before, and he instead let out an unfamiliar noise of pleasure as his breath hitched in his throat. Her mouth enclosed him entirely as she began to bob, and Sun pressed his head backward into the pillows as he could feel his breathing becoming erratic._

 _"Blake," he repeated, barely able to believe what was happening. "I… I love you."_

 _Blake rose with one final, torturously slow lick before replacing her mouth with her hand as she worked a protective sleeve into place upon him._

 _"Then show me," she replied seductively before climbing atop him and lowering herself down upon the boy with her hands planted firmly upon his chest. Again, she began to bob up and down, though with her entire body._

 _Sun finally opened his eyes and began to move with her, following her rhythm as she smoothly rose and fell atop him. In time, she dipped in for a kiss, and he met her lips with a furious passion as the speed of her pounding down into his waist increased. He bucked and writhed wildly beneath her as he felt himself approaching a release, and he broke the kiss as he stared up at her body. Her modest, yet perfectly curved chest, the silky feeling of her thighs rubbing against his hips, the adorable, almost whining noises she made as they both approached…_

Sun curled his tail around himself one last time before he felt a familiar, throbbing sense of the inevitable. He squeezed and ran his tail up and down himself as his mouth hung open and he released all of his tension in a long, pulsating, cathartic orgasm. Unable to hold back, Sun cried out in a shuddering, entirely too loud moan before he remembered where he was. Almost immediately, his eyes flew open and his breathing stopped as he paused, listening for any reaction from Jaune and hoping against hope that the other boy somehow hadn't heard him.

After what felt like ages of waiting and straining to hear over the pounding water from the showerhead, Sun finally let out his breath in a series of panting gasps. He hurriedly used his washcloth to clean off the shower wall before wringing it intensely under the water to try to banish all evidence of his indulgence into the drain. A shame hotter than both the water and his enticing reverie washed over his entire body, and yet, he _did_ feel far more relaxed after the event. His legs trembled slightly as he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, and he did one last check of himself to make sure that nothing undue was clinging to his person before drying his hair and wrapping himself in the waiting towel. Seemingly unable to muster the courage to go back into the living room, Sun ended up merely lingering near the door.

"It's fine," Sun whispered to himself as he shivered. "It's fine, and he didn't hear you. Everything's cool…"

Sun bit his lip and grasped the doorknob before heading out into the living room once again. To his horror, Winter Schnee was standing in the kitchenette next to Jaune. His friend was dressed in an incredibly smart looking Atlas Academy uniform of rich purples, and he wore an absolutely furious blush that told Sun everything he needed to know about the situation. Suddenly, the faunus felt like dying on the spot as he looked at the pair.

"Ah, perfect timing," Winter said, seemingly unbothered. "Your keycard is on the coffee table, and tomorrow, you will all be receiving new, state of the art scrolls, courtesy of General Ironwood."

"O-oh," Sun said sheepishly as he walked around the couch and picked up his card. He looked it up and down with an intense interest as he kept his eyes off the others in the room to the best of his ability. "Thanks!"

"Mm. On that note- the general wishes to meet with you, specifically, tomorrow morning. Does 10 A.M. work for you?"

"Me?" Sun asked as he looked up. Under Winter's gaze and given the situation, he somehow felt even more naked than he had been in the shower. "Just me?"

"Just you," Winter confirmed was a nod. "You are, after all, the leader."

"Yeah," Sun agreed before clearing his throat. "Uh, yeah, I guess I am. 10 is fine."

"Excellent. I'll leave you boys to it. Get some rest- you look like you need it," Winter said offhandedly as she made her way to the door.

"Yes ma'am!" Jaune replied enthusiastically while avoiding Sun's eyes. "Have a pleasant evening!"

Winter made no effort to reply as the door slid shut behind her. Immediately afterward, Sun locked eyes with Jaune, and made a pleading expression.

"Please tell me she didn't hea-"

"No, she came in _seconds_ aft-"

"Dude, it totally wasn't what it sounded like, I dropped a shampoo bottle on my foot a-"

"Sun," Jaune said as he held up both hands in a sign of surrender, only for the faunus to fall silent. "It's… it's _fine_. I get it. Really. I… honestly thought about doing it too, and I don't mind. If we're going to be living together, situations like that might happen, every so often. Just… maybe next time, not in the shower that we both have to use…?"

Sun's tail nearly twisted itself into a knot behind him as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

"…yeah. Sorry, man. I'll… scrub everything, before tomorrow morning. I mean, I cleaned up, but I'll go ahead and disinfect the whole shower anyway. My bad…"

"Yes, please," Jaune replied before coughing into his hand. "And after that, let's pretend this never happened."

"Yeah," Sun agreed. "Yeah, that would be great…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

If you thought Neptune being a habitual nudist was as awkward as this story was going to get, _boy do you have another thing coming_.

 **-RD**


	82. Misery Loves Company

Blake lingered just before the steps outside of _The Notched Blade's_ front door, her stomach in knots and her feline ears flat. Somehow, she knew that setting foot on the soil of Kuo Kuana and heading for her goal would be a point of no return, and she also knew that she wasn't quite ready to see what awaited her at her destination.

"Hey, kid. You heading out?"

Blake's right ear swiveled back to catch the gruff voice, and she hugged herself gently as she remained facing away from it.

"…I don't think I can avoid it for much longer," she admitted as she leaned forward slightly and planted a foot down onto the first step. It wasn't long before Qrow followed suit, and the two began to walk in tandem down into the dirt.

"I really don't envy you. I don't blame you for taking some time to yourself this morning, either," Qrow offered as he stuffed his hands into his pockets while walking. "Kali filled me in on everything that happened here. Nobody should have to go through what you did, especially at your age."

"I'm am _adult_ , Qrow," Blake protested, keeping her arms around herself.

"That may technically be true, but seriously- you're all too young to be dealing with an all-powerful threat like Salem. Adding personal trauma into the mix is a recipe for disaster. I don't expect you to be able to function effectively while we're on this island, to be honest," Qrow said with a shrug.

"So, how do _you_ do it?"

Qrow blinked in surprised and stopped in his tracks, only for Blake to stop with him as he looked her over with wide eyes. After a momentary pause, the man chuckled and ruffled his hair as he offered her a guilty smile and place his smooth, nonchalant mask firmly back in place.

"…alcohol, for one."

Blake merely rolled her eyes and huffed, before finally dropping her arms to her sides and beginning to walk again.

"What? Not a good enough answer, Princess?" Qrow inquired as he began to walk behind Blake.

"It's a _bullshit_ answer," the girl spat. " _Alcohol_ isn't what keeps you going against an 'all-powerful threat', and it certainly doesn't take care of _your_ personal traumas, Qrow. Maybe it's what gets you out of bed some days, and maybe that's how you cope with some of the awful things that have happened to you _temporarily_ , but it's not your _reason_. It's not what drives you. That's what I want to know."

"…guess you inherited your mother's smarts," Qrow commented bluntly as he sped up to walk at Blake's side once again. "That's… it's something personal. Something I don't like talking about. It's nothing against you."

"And all of _this_ is personal to me," Blake replied as she stopped once again, forcing Qrow to do the same. "Adam worked with Salem- that much was clear from his activities at Haven. That connection is what drove his actions for an unknown period of time, and if what Cinnamon told us about the White Fang striking up a deal with her is true… then _she_ is ultimately responsible for everything he did from the moment their agreement was made. My home burned, and my father died, because of Salem. I'm away from Sun right now, because of Salem. He had to take the lamp to Ironwood and we had to come here, _because of Salem_. You shouldn't worry about me being unable to function, because I'm running on a cocktail of rage and sorrow, and she just keeps providing free refills, to put it in terms you might understand. So don't treat me like a _child_ , and don't take pity on me. I have every reason to fight with everything I've got, in any way I can."

Qrow deflated slightly as he made a noise of disappointment, though it wasn't clear whether it was toward Blake, or himself.

"I… lost a teammate to her. One of my best friends. Summer Rose," Qrow said slowly.

"…Ruby's mother?" Blake asked, her ears finally perking straight up in surprise.

"Ruby's mom, yeah," Qrow confirmed. "She was an incredible woman, and one day, she went out on a mission for Oz, and never came back. All he's ever told me is that Salem was responsible for her death. That's motivation enough for me."

"Then we're not so different," Blake said flatly. "We've both suffered loss due to her, and we're both willing to stand against the odds in the name of people we care about. So… don't _worry_ about me pulling my weight. Support me and help me carry it instead, and I'll do the same for you."

Qrow frowned softly as he looked Blake over with sad eyes. The faunus girl responded by extending a hand to him and nodding. With a sigh, he took it and shook firmly, only to look away.

"…yeah, you're no kid. You almost sound like her, right now."

Blake let her hand fall from Qrow's grasp in an awkward motion and moved it to hold her other arm.

"…sorry. I didn't mean to dredge up unpleasant memories."

"Seems like that's what today's about, honestly," Qrow replied. "C'mon. Let's get moving, and lend a hand to Kali and the others. Sorry we got off on the wrong foot."

"That started way back when you were giving my boyfriend hostile looks, back in Mistral," Blake informed with a small smile as she began to walk.

"Sorry about that," Qrow offered with another shrug as he followed along. "But when it comes to classified information like the relics, maidens, and Salem, seeing him march onto the scene with an entire party of unknowns put me on edge. I've been fighting to keep those secrets for years, now, and it took a lot of convincing to even tell Ruby about what's really going on."

"Then maybe you should stop bottling your emotions. Literally," Blake added with a sidelong glance.

"Consider this the pot calling the kettle _Blake_ ," Qrow grumbled. "Seems to me like we both have that problem."

"I'll admit that I do, yes," Blake replied. "Still… Sun helps, a lot. Neptune's been incredible to me, and helping me handle things while we're apart. I wouldn't mind adding you to the list and returning the favor. It's healthier than drowning yourself in beer."

"She said, while we're staying at a _tavern_ ," Qrow said with a sigh. "Still… how about we just take it day by day, and see what happens? I'm not against getting friendlier, though."

"Then that will be where we start," Blake said with a sense of finality as the pair arrived at the partially burned husk of the Belladonna mansion. The girl trembled slightly before the twisted and blown out wall standing before them, through which she could see splinters of ruined furniture and a broken staircase that connected the dining hall to the upper floor.

"Hey," Qrow said softly as he placed a hand on Blake's shoulder. "We'll take it slow and start cleaning out first to figure out what's salvageable, what's not, and where we need to focus on repairs. Your mother made it sound like the whole damned town is going to get in on the effort, so the most painful part of hauling everything out should go pretty quick. Want me to stay with you for the initial sweep today?"

"Yes," Blake said quickly as she brought her own hand up to rest atop Qrow's. "Yes, I do."

Without another word, she let her hand drop to her side as she made her way through the wall and into the mansion.

* * *

"…so, I'm losing you again, is what you're telling me. For weeks. _Months_. Maybe longer."

Cinnamon closed her eyes and turned her head to the side, her voice full of annoyance as she balled her hands against her hips. As much as she wanted to yell in protest, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Upon opening her eyes and locking them with her lover's pained deep greens, all of her anger and resolve seemed to melt away in an instant, and she was instead left feeling hollow. The flickering candlelight from the nearby table only seemed to amplify the man's eye color within the otherwise darkened command tent, lending them an intensely piercing quality.

"I… don't want this either," she said slowly. "I don't want _any_ of this, Dai, but the reality of the situation is that there's a target on my back, and if I don't keep moving, it'll soon be on _all_ of us. I'm not doing this to distance myself from you. I'm doing this to _protect_ you."

The lizard faunus let out a long, weary sigh as he rose from the wooden chair beside the table. The leather on his sleeveless black vest creaked softly as he rose, and then there was silence again within the tent. His tattoo sleeves of patterned flowers and waves became visible in the muted light from the candle as he folded his arms across his chest, and his facial expression was hidden, in contrast.

"I know. It honestly almost hurts more than if you were to say that you _were_ simply leaving me out of boredom, or spite, or some sort of problem between us," Daisuke said in a monotone voice. "At least then, I could be angry at you instead of simply feeling powerless. Then, I wouldn't feel like circumstances are forcing us to set ourselves aside for the good of the faunus _again_. As it stands… I can't blame you for doing what you're doing. You know I'll do what you ask, as much as I hate it."

"Don't be so sure," Cinnamon warned as she slowly approached. "I'm… going to ask a _lot_ of you. You'll become the High Leader in my stead, and that isn't going to be an easy burden to bear. Though… with the way things are going to play out, the White Fang may as well no longer exist."

"What do you mean?" Daisuke asked as Cinnamon took one of his hands and began to rub idly at his knuckles with her thumb. "We're not… _giving up_ , are we…?"

"No," Cinnamon reassured quickly. "No, we're not. We're just… going to be fighting in a different way. Our people need to be protected and provided for, above all else, and that means separating them from Salem as quickly as possible. I want you to take them to Kuo Kuana, and merge with the Black Claw. Try to keep our identity alive, but… honestly, that's hardly a priority, at this point."

"…so, help them rebuild. Help our people come together and rise to power, at the cost of our independence… but with the benefit of saving lives," Daisuke considered as he looked down at Cinnamon's hand. "A lot to ask, yes, but nothing is too much for your sake. I'll get it done."

Cinnamon's mouth pulled into a half-smile as she joined Daisuke in looking down at their clasped hands. She was the first to break the grip, but kept her eyes remained angled toward the floor as she spoke.

"Thank you. But… there's one other thing we need to discuss, before I leave. I… think this has to be the end for us. I think it's time th-"

" _No_ ," Daisuke interrupted, his usual passive and thoughtful lilt gone in favor of a tone full of warning. "I will _not_ let you do that to yourself out of misguided altruism. I know what you're thinking, because I know how your mind works. This isn't the end, Cin."

"Dai, just…" the woman began, only to shake her head in frustration as she trailed off. "It isn't fair to you. _None_ of this is fair to you, and it hasn't been since we met. You suffered through my supposed 'relationship' with Adam for the sake of getting to this point and keeping the Fang in check, and I can't ask you in good faith to wait for me again. We've barely had a _day_ together again as a couple, and now I have to leave, potentially permanently. You don't need to shackle your life to mine."

"But I will," Daisuke replied as he lightly rested his hands upon Cinnamon's shoulders, finally earning her attention again. "And I _want_ to. I _love_ you."

Cinnamon fell silent as she simply held her partner's fierce, determined gaze. In time, she shifted herself forward and rested her hands upon the man's hips as she brought her lips to his and indulged in a long, passionate kiss. As the act concluded and she realized that Daisuke's arms had encircled her back, she leaned back slightly and lowered her voice to a near whisper.

"…you're such a stubborn _ass_ ," she accused with a sigh. "I want you to be happy. Is that so wrong? I want you to go out and find a girlfriend who _isn't_ constantly putting her life on the line, burning bridges, and biting off more than she can chew. Someone who can actually be here for you and help with _your_ problems and anxieties, from time to time. A partner who actually _enjoys_ sex and doesn't constantly weigh you down with baggage that you've tried so hard to carry for her."

"Hm," Daisuke pretended to consider the notion, only to shrug his shoulders as he offered her a smirk. "That sounds… _dull_."

Cinnamon could only roll her eyes in response before planting another soft kiss on the man's cheek. She let the embrace end naturally before taking Daisuke's hand once again and beginning to lead him to the cot set up in the corner of the tent.

"You're impossible… but… thank you. Please, take care of yourself while I'm away. If I manage to return from this… I think it might be time to reevaluate what we're doing with our lives."

"Let's worry about that when we get there," Daisuke offered as he lowered himself onto the bed and dragged his long, orange and black banded tail up onto the mattress.

"We have plenty else to worry about, starting tomorrow," Cinnamon pointed out as she joined her partner upon the sheets and allowed him to wrap his arms around her. "Goodnight, Dai. I love you, too."

Daisuke allowed himself a momentary smirk as he held tight onto Cinnamon. After a short while, his expression twisted into one filled with worry and misery. It stayed that way until he finally fell asleep, hours later.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

NOTHING BUT FUN HAPPENS HERE.

 **-RD**


	83. General Admissions

Weiss let out a sigh of content as she continued running her brush through her unbound hair. Her efforts at tugging through the snow-white locks brought about an echoing sound of heavy friction throughout the living room. Without warning, her brush snagged on a painful tangle, and she scrunched her face as she worked through the knot in a rocking motion.

"Keep that up, and you'll rip your hair out," Ilia warned as she walked into the living room in a set of deep purple pajamas with the Atlas Academy logo upon the right breast. "Want me to get it?"

"Please," Weiss answered as she passed the brush over her shoulder to Ilia, who climbed onto the couch behind her. "My hair has gotten… a bit out of control, in length."

"Want me to cut it?" Ilia asked as she took Weiss' locks in hand and began to brush them out properly. "There's a pair of scissors in the bathroom."

"What? _No_ ," Weiss replied emphatically as she turned her head slightly to catch Ilia in her peripheral vision. "I just… I need to find a new way to wear it. I actually like the length- I'm just not used to it."

"Could braid it," Ilia suggested with a shrug as she continued working out the knots. "I can handle that after we get you untangled, if you want to see how it looks."

Weiss mulled over the proposition for a moment while rolling the cuff of her own pair of silken Atlas Academy pajamas between her fingers.

"…I don't see why not. Thank you, Ilia. I'm glad that you and I have been on… better terms, for a while now. Things seemed tense when we started out on this journey together."

"You've got that right," Ilia grumbled as she went about straightening Weiss' hair, the silvery curtain finally devoid of tangles. "You can thank Sun for that. If he's cool with you, then I'm cool with you."

"That doesn't seem to be true for General Ironwood," Weiss pointed out. She received a ragged sigh in response, and Ilia shook her head as she gathered Weiss' hair in sections to begin braiding.

"He's in a position of power, making grandiose plans he doesn't have the means to execute efficiently on his own, and silently endorses your family by letting your dad run for office. Of course I don't trust him."

"Well, he can't just outright _silence_ my father," Weiss offered. "It's not like he's done anything illegal… at least, not publicly. The people of Mantle will see through his lies and make the right call. People won't follow such a transparently malicious individual."

"I did," Ilia replied simply. "Two of them. I got burned both times, and I'm done putting my faith in people who think they're _above_ others… especially when 'others' means an entire species. That goes both ways."

Weiss fell silent as she stared ahead at the large windowed wall that led out to the balcony. The rich purple curtains were drawn to hide the glass from view, and she studied their wrinkles intently as she tried to think of what to say.

"I… don't blame you, but we _do_ need people in positions of power, Ilia. Society crumbles, otherwise."

" _Limited_ power. Sun is fine as a leader of a small group, and I'll back Ironwood because Sun trusts him… but I don't. The second that man shows his true colors, I'm out," Ilia warned.

"I think you're being unfair," Weiss said quickly, only to bring about another uncomfortable silence as Ilia suddenly stopped braiding her hair. The two sat totally still until Weiss finally spoke again, her tone a bit colder. "Unfair, and honestly… a bit narrow-minded and childish. Not _everyone_ here in Atlas is trying to get one over on others, regardless of their affiliations and the things happening around them. I think my sister did a decent job of proving that."

Weiss tensed as she awaited Ilia's response, half expecting for the other girl to strike her from behind. Instead, she received a long, drawn-out sigh as Ilia finally went back to braiding her hair.

"…yeah. Yeah, I know. I'm just… I'm frustrated, Weiss, by so, _so_ many things right now, and I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels and going in circles. I feel like a lot of my life was totally wasted up until this point, and I also don't know how I'm going to take being _here_ , of all places," Ilia confessed.

"…I feel all of those things as well," Weiss replied softly. "Every last one of them… but I'm holding on to hope that we're doing the right thing _now_ , and that it will make up for those wasted years. I'm trusting in my sister's judgment that General Ironwood is worth serving, and that she knows what she's doing by continuing to be his right hand. Even if that's not good enough for you to trust in him, then can you do it for me? For Sun?"

"I can try, I guess. I'm… glad _you'll_ call me out on my bullshit, at least," Ilia mumbled as she finished the braid. "There. C'mon, let's head to the bathroom so you can see what you look like."

Weiss slipped off the couch and led the way to the other room, before flicking on the lights and leaning over the counter to look at herself in the mirror. In place of her free-hanging side ponytail was instead a large, tightly-knit braid rising from the back of her skull and hanging down to her waist. Weiss turned from side to side to take in the view, letting the long braid swish around herself in the process.

"My hair has gotten _that long?_ " she questioned, looking to Ilia's reflection within the glass.

"Yeah," the chameleon girl replied with a shrug, her arms folded across her chest. "When you straighten it, anyway. If you like it, I can do it pretty quickly in the morning."

"I love it," Weiss confirmed as she turned and gave the other girl a nod. Slowly, she raised her arms and offered a hug, which the other girl accepted. "Thank you, Ilia."

"Sure. Favor for a favor?"

Weiss broke the hug and folded her hands before herself, standing at the ready.

"Of course. What can I do for you?" she asked, while tilting her head to one side.

"…cut mine?" Ilia asked as she reached behind herself and gathered her loose hair into its usual ponytail. "I can't stand it anymore, especially after fighting all day today and getting it bogged down with seawater and blood."

Weiss' eyes widened slightly as she searched the other girl's face.

"You're _certain?_ Your hair looks _adorable_ …"

"Yeah, that's another reason," Ilia replied with a scowl as she let her hair drop back down to hang against her back. "I'm tired of looking _adorable_. I want to look _hot_. Fierce. The 'princess' look suits you, but I'm done being cute. C'mon, I just showered, so it'll be easy."

"If you're sure," Weiss replied hesitantly. "I've never cut hair before, but I'll do the best I can. What sort of thing are you looking for? Just… chop it off, and work around that?"

"Pretty much," Ilia answered as she briefly disappeared from the room. A moment later, she reappeared in the doorway, carrying one of the stools that normally rested in front of the kitchen island. "Just… short. Choppy. Something easy to manage that doesn't take twenty minutes to wash."

"Stop making it sound so tempting," Weiss joked as she retrieved a pair of scissors from the medicine cabinet and gestured to the stool. Ilia hopped up onto it and cracked her neck, before letting out a sigh. "Do you think this will help with some of your tension?"

"Maybe. I hope so," Ilia mused as Weiss began to get to work. She watched in the mirror as Weiss gathered up her hair into a ponytail and held it, looking unsure as she leveled the scissors at the base of the collection. "Do it."

Weiss grimaced as she severed the entire ponytail from Ilia's head, just below the base. She placed the bundle of hair upon the counter with a nervous smile, before running her hands through Ilia's remaining hair and beginning to straighten it out with a comb.

"Well… no coming back from that. May I ask what else is weighing you down, lately? You seem miserable, ever since the boat..."

"A lot," Ilia said with a shrug as Weiss went about snipping and trimming her hair. "There's the obvious with Cinnamon, but it's mostly just _being_ here. My parents died in a dust mine collapse, Weiss. It gives the entire place a heavy air that's putting me on edge. I knew it would be bad, but I didn't know it would make me feel _this_ bad, this quickly."

"I… honestly don't know how to help you with that," Weiss admitted as she kept her eyes on Ilia's hairline. "And I feel like apologizing would almost be patronizing and come off as insincere."

"Just listening helps, as cliché as it sounds," Ilia replied. "I mean, I guess it does. With the possibility of us going _into_ dust mines to gather gravity dust for Ironwood, I… I don't know if I can do it. I think that's another reason I'm resisting him."

"At least you recognize that," Weiss said cautiously. "I'm sure he wouldn't force you to join us in there, if he knew. You should talk to him."

"Yeah. Maybe…" Ilia trailed off as she looked down at her lap. "I'm also… I'm also starting to feel really lonely."

Weiss raised a brow, all too aware of the crestfallen tone that Ilia's voice had suddenly adopted.

"…lonely? Even with all of us here?" she asked, knowing that the question was a pointless one.

"…not like that. This stays between you and me, alright?" Ilia insisted as she locked eyes with Weiss through the mirror.

"…of course," Weiss reassured. "Any time you want to talk, I'll make myself available, and keep it between us. It's the least I can do for a friend."

"Then… yeah. Seeing Sun so miserable, stressed out, and faking a smile all the time makes me not want to bother him as much, even if he insists otherwise. I _know_ his mind's on Blake and how badly he wants to see her again, as well as our new mission. He doesn't need me clinging to his arm and looking up to him while I spout off about my problems," Ilia deadpanned.

"I'm sure he'd still let you do so, regardless," Weiss offered in an unsure voice. "I'm sure he _wants_ you to go to him for help…"

"Yeah, but I'm also _jealous_. Jealous of him for _having_ Blake, and… weirdly, jealous of Blake for having _him_. I'm as gay as Atlas is corrupt, but even _I'll_ admit that Sun is something else. I want something like what they have. I've wanted it for a long time, but seeing those two so deeply in love is starting to grate on my nerves, especially now, and I _hate_ that, because I know it's totally unfair and shitty of me."

The constant snipping sounds of Weiss' scissors stopped abruptly as she tried to process the information, her face turning scarlet as she kept her eyes on Ilia's hair.

"O-oh. I… I see," Weiss fumbled before clearing her throat and getting back to work. "While I'll gladly listen and offer advice, I… I think you'll find that I'm likely your _worst_ option for discussing anything… _like that_. I have no experience in the field."

"That was a hell of a lot of words for 'I've never had a boyfriend'," Ilia said as she rolled her eyes. "And that's fine. I'm not judging, and I'm not looking for a mystical solution, or for you to hook me up. You asked what's bothering me, and I answered. I feel like an asshole for starting to almost resent Sun sometimes. He's my big bro, and I think… part of it is that I almost feel mad at him for taking on so much and insisting he's fine, when he's clearly not?"

"That's understandable," Weiss considered. "But… I think you're being too hard on yourself. There are many forms of love, Ilia. Even _I_ know that."

" _Gross_ ," Ilia sassed. "And yeah, I know. Then again, I'm too much of a mess right now for a relationship. I'd probably be better off just having someone to fuck every so often."

Weiss' hand slipped as she sliced away a bit more hair than intended, though she quickly correctly the misaligned cut as she offered Ilia a sheepish smile.

"I… ah, well, I'm… even _less_ experienced in that area, so I really do apologize, but I hope venting is helping…?"

"It is," Ilia confirmed. "Honestly, seeing you squirm or get all huffy at any mention of sex has _always_ lifted my mood. Speaking of- is Yang single?"

Weiss breathed out through her nose harshly as she began working on the final detailing of Ilia's hair while ducking down to avoid the girl's line of sight.

"Now, you're just taunting me. _Yes_ , Yang is single, so far as I know, and also the type to… _explore_ , as it were. All I ask is that if the two of you do become 'friends with benefits', you keep that knowledge from me," Weiss finished.

Ilia snorted lightly with laughter.

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't. I'm kinda surprised you know what 'friends with benefits' even means. I also never thought to ask until just now, but are _you_ single? Not asking for myself, asking out of curiosity." Weiss' shoulders slumped almost immediately, and for a moment, Ilia felt rather terrible as she watched the other girl's posture change. "...sore subject?"

"No, I…" Weiss began, only to shake her head. "Never mind. It's… yes, I'm alone. Can we please just leave it at that?"

"Hey, whoa," Ilia protested, her tone serious. "You've listened to all of my shit, it's only fair that I listen to yours. What's wrong?"

Weiss paused as she lowered the scissors from Ilia's hair and sighed.

"I just haven't found that 'spark' with anyone yet, and I feel…" Weiss trailed off, before shaking her head. "…that's all. How does it look?"

Ilia opened her mouth to continue the conversation before thinking better of it and clamming up. She stood from the stool and turned while looking at herself in the mirror, only to find her hair had been shorn into a straight, cheekbone-length pixie cut not far removed from Ruby's style. Ilia smiled softly as she ruffled her hand through her hair, messing it up a bit. Weiss bit her lip and sighed, shifting a bit as she stepped in place.

"I know, it's… not really gr-"

"It's _perfect_ ," Ilia praised. "Just the kind of shakeup I needed."

"Really?" Weiss asked before letting out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. I was afraid I'd made a mess o-"

" _Yo, where you guys at!?"_ came a call from out in the living room. _"I got supplies!"_

Ilia nearly launched out of the bathroom, and Weiss followed along at a much slower and more reasonable pace. Yang stood in the living room with a collection of shopping bags propped up beside herself on the kitchen counter, wearing her usual outfit of brown leathers.

"…oh. Oh _damn_ ," the blonde commented with a filthy grin. "You look cute."

Ilia initially bristled at the choice of words, but offered a smile of her own all the same.

"Thanks! Weiss did it. I was just feeling a change, you know?"

"Nope," Yang said with a shrug. "Haven't had my hair cut in years. Still, it looks great. Help me get all of this shit put away, and then we'll wind down for the night?"

"Of course," Weiss offered as she stepped forward and began unpacking the shopping bags. "Tomorrow is… a new beginning, for everyone. I've got to visit the infirmary and get my wounds checked out, before anything else."

"Uh, any reason you didn't do that _tonight?_ " Yang questioned as she lifted a box of macaroni and cheese from a shopping bag. "It seems pretty damned important.

"…it's been days already, and I feel mostly functional," Weiss protested as Ilia shook her head.

"Still. Get on that, tomorrow. I've got no real plans, outside of whatever the higher ups might have planned for us."

"I've got a thing or two I want to take care of before Ironwood starts sending us into the field," Yang said cryptically. "But first, we all need rest. Am I on the couch tonight?"

"About that- the beds are queens, and you said you're not a prude. I'm down to share and give Weiss, who _is_ a prude, her own bed," Ilia offered nonchalantly as she went about taking out packages of deli meat.

" _Hey!_ " Weiss protested as she narrowed her eyes at Ilia.

"Is she wrong? Weiss, we could _sleep together_ if you want," Yang taunted. "Wanna be my little spoon?"

Weiss went crimson once again as she kept her eyes on the groceries and merely mumbled to herself. Yang simply laughed, before offering Ilia a shrug.

"Yeah, sure. Sounds like a plan to me."

"Cool," Ilia replied as she transferred a carton of milk to the refrigerator. "Then I guess that's that. I'm gonna run my head under the sink and maybe make a few more cuts to my hair once I see it soaked, and then I'll meet you in the bedroom?"

"I'll be there," Yang offered as she rolled the collection of empty plastic bags into a ball and tossed them into the trash. She watched Ilia disappear into the bathroom before raising a brow at Weiss, who stood leaning against the counter with her arms folded across her chest and a conflicted look upon her face. "Hey, you alright?"

"Hm?" Weiss asked as her expression returned to neutral and her eyes snapped to Yang's. "Oh, I'm alright, yes. Thank you for asking."

"If you say so," Yang replied with her suspicion clear in her voice. "You know I'm always around if you want to talk. We _are_ still Team RWBY."

"Yes, of course," Weiss replied before clearing her throat. "That being said, I… _am_ rather exhausted. I think I should turn in."

"You do that," Yang agreed with a nod. "Get some sleep, Weiss. This hasn't been easy on any of us."

"No, it hasn't. Have fun with Ilia, I suppose?" Weiss offered.

"Oh. _I will_ ," Yang replied with a devious smile as she shot Weiss a wink.

Weiss merely smiled nervously before turning on her heel and making her way for her bedroom. Despite all of her efforts, she couldn't shake the crushing feeling of loneliness that had been in her chest ever since her conversation with Ilia.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

This scene ended up being a _lot_ longer than I intended, but here we are. More frequent updates will start happening soon- after all, we've got a lot of ground to cover… and some characters that haven't been seen in a _long_ time to hit up soon.

 **-RD**


	84. Exchanging Unpleasantries

Sun drew in several deep breaths as he stood in the circular lobby outside of General Ironwood's office. The room seemed impossibly and unnecessarily tall to the boy, with a ceiling edging up into a rounded cone with buttresses that connected in an 'X' formation at its center. The walls were painted a surgical white much like most of the hallways within Atlas Academy, though they were also adorned with paintings of previous headmasters. The room was totally devoid of other people, and Sun was left to merely twist his tail behind himself in uncomfortable silence as he stalled for more time.

"C'mon, man," Sun whispered to himself. "You can do this. They're relying on you…"

The boy brought a hand up to adjust Ghira's pauldron upon his shoulder. Somehow, merely touching the piece of armor brought him a bit of calm, and he took one final steadying breath before striding toward the office door. The shutters slid apart automatically, and Sun blinked in confusion as he entered the room only to find the large leather chair behind General Ironwood's desk empty.

"Over here."

Sun whipped his head toward the source of the noise, only to find a weary looking James Ironwood sitting at a table on the side of the room. An empty chair occupied the other side of the table, and there was a pot of coffee and two mugs resting between them.

"Oh! Uh… good morning… Sir?" Sun stated awkwardly before snapping into a salute.

"…good morning," the general replied before beckoning Sun to join him. "And there's no need for a salute. I want to talk to you on friendlier, less formal terms, at the moment."

"Oh," was all Sun could think to say as he settled himself into the plushy, velvet-cushioned chair across from the older man. "Well… that's great, actually, because I don't think I have it in me for anything too big right now."

"You didn't sleep, I would assume?" General Ironwood questioned as he began to pour Sun a cup of coffee.

"…not really, no," the boy admitted as he watched the dark liquid pour into the cup with a conflicted look.

"Nor did I," the general replied. "It's becoming an increasingly common scenario. I'm running on coffee and faith in those who have committed themselves to me, these days."

"It shows," Sun said before he could stop himself.

General Ironwood paused just before pouring his own coffee, and let his eyes settle upon the boy's with an unreadable look.

"I'm aware. It shows on you, too. Your eyes are bloodshot, your shoulders are slumped, and you look uneasy, even among friends," the man pointed out.

"Yeah," Sun agreed. "I… _yeah_. I'm going to try to take a nap later, but I don't know if I'll even be able to pull it off. Part of me thinks it's better to just stay active and keep it rolling, until I finally crash and find a reset button."

"That's a valid strategy, though one you need to approach with care," General Ironwood advised. "You'll need to find that 'button' one way or another soon, considering you need to be in top shape for the coming weeks."

"I know," Sun acknowledged. "I'll make it happen. I promise."

"See that you do," General Ironwood ordered. "After all… you're their leader. They rely on you. They _need_ you, in ways you may not even realize just yet. The way they look at you is remarkably similar to the way that the Ace Ops look at me."

Sun immediately looked away and put a hand around the coffee mug, reveling in the warmth that transferred into his scarred palm.

"…I don't think I deserve that much credit," Sun said quietly. "I still don't know how I fell into this position, or why I was appointed to lead Team SSSN to begin with. For a long time, I felt like the worst leader in Remnant for abandoning my team to go and help a friend in need. Almost immediately after we reunited, though… all of these people just started to cling to me. Don't get me wrong- I appreciate it, and I care about them all a _lot_ , but I just… I almost feel like they're just desperately hanging on to me because I spoke up and made a plan, more than for my ability. I'm worried that they chose the wrong guy for the job."

General Ironwood took a long, slow sip of his coffee as he let the teen speak. He gave the boy his undivided attention throughout the monologue, and his features pulled into a soft frown as Sun's voice faltered slightly near the end.

"…I'd like to show you something, before we talk about the matters at hand," the man resolved as he braced a hand down into the table and pushed himself up to a standing position. He walked over to his desk and grabbed a sleek silver remote before pressing a button to close the shutters down around the windows, rendering the room almost completely dark.

"A presentation?" Sun questioned.

"In a sense," the general answered as a holographic screen buzzed to life from the projector in the center of the floor. The image crackled to life almost immediately, and Sun very nearly choked on his coffee as he realized what he was being shown.

There within the security camera footage was a younger version of Sun, running hard down a street covered in rubble. Smoking ruins and rising flames occupied much of the screen and partially obscured his lower body, until he exited the frame and the scene transitioned to a different view. The new perspective from a camera mounted upon the side of a building gave a much closer angle of the boy, and the portrait of him that it painted was far from ideal.

The faunus' hair was slick and wild with sweat, his white shirt was torn in several places, and his face was marred with blood, ash, and dirt. Though there was no sound to accompany the footage, chills ran down Sun's arms as he watched his younger self open his mouth in a desperate battle cry and charge straight into a crowd of four beowulves. His doppelganger moved with a speed and ferocity that Sun barely recognized, and he watched in awe as his own memories played out in front of him from a fresh perspective.

"That's… that's Beacon…" Sun choked out in a hollow voice as General Ironwood returned to the seat across from him.

"It is," the man agreed solemnly. "You were on my mind quite a bit yesterday evening, Sun. I knew that I recognized you and that my initial impression was positive, but that entire nightmare is such a blur that I couldn't specifically remember why. It's that fire in your eyes, the one that you can see here even in this low-quality footage. I recognized it in you during our brief encounters at the school, and I see it in you even now."

Sun's breath hitched as the general pressed another button, causing the footage to play out in slow motion. He watched as his staff descended upon a beowulf's skull and caved in the structure, his past self gritting his teeth with a look of intermingling pain and determination. For a brief moment, the echo of Sun seemed to be staring straight _through_ him, and he looked back down into his mug to escape the bloodlust in the younger faunus' eyes.

"…not a fan of coffee?" General Ironwood asked lightly. "You look almost sick."

"I'm not, no," Sun admitted as he shook his head. "But it's not that. It's… that fire _scares_ me. Sometimes, it comes out in ways I don't even expect. It's like some kind of inner animal just waiting for an excuse to break out of its cage, and some of the times that it has in the past… it didn't end well."

"Sometimes, applied ferocity can be a weapon more intimidating and inspiring than the biggest Atlesian airship, or highest caliber firearm," General Ironwood pointed out. "That passion and determination _can_ be frightening to behold, and sometimes, it needs to be. Other times, it inspires. It's in your eyes right now, even in your exhausted state."

Sun quickly looked up and met the general's eyes, his own wide and curious.

"…it is?"

"Very much so," the man answered. "It's muted. Restrained and controlled, but undeniably there. There's a firmness to your stare. A resilience. It's a common feature of all good leaders, and most are unaware that they have it. The rage, the commitment, and the reassuring, resolute calm that you exude all stem from the same inner passion, Sun. The trick to moving from the position of 'good leader' to an _excellent_ leader is learning to control the switch as appropriate. You've already turned it on. Now, you need to learn its intricacies. I wanted you to see this so that you could finally see it for yourself."

Sun turned his eyes to the floating hologram once again and couldn't help but smile as he watched his younger self give Neptune exasperated hand motions while standing in the middle of Amity Coliseum. He remembered their argument as though it had just happened, and he chuckled softly. Even within such a ridiculous scenario, he couldn't deny that there _was_ something fiery and unique in his younger self's gaze.

"…maybe you're right. That's… a pleasant way to look at it. There's definitely something in _your_ eyes that I can't quite put my finger on."

"And I will do my best to lead you to that same quality by example," General Ironwood offered. "It's something you'll have to get used to over time, even if you don't quite like it at the moment. It's a bit like coffee- an unpleasant necessity, but once you grow accustomed to it, it will pull you out of many otherwise hopeless situations."

Sun snorted and took another sip of his drink, before pulling a face in response to the liquid's bitter taste.

"…nice segue."

"It comes with practice," the general replied with a soft smile. "Now, though… there _are_ a few matters that I'd like to discuss with you, this morning. Would you prefer the uncomfortable line of questions first, or the more pleasant one?"

"Uncomfortable," Sun said definitively. "I'm a 'get it over with' kind of guy."

"As am I," General Ironwood agreed. "Especially when it comes to difficult decisions. It is better to decide and commit than it is to waffle about and potentially cost time, opportunity, and especially, _lives_. In this case… I would like your input on deciding what to do with two of them. Corsac Albain and Ilia Amitola."

"Ilia is committed to this," Sun began immediately. "She's sacrificed a lot to be here, a-"

Sun trailed off as General Ironwood raised a hand for silence.

"…please, don't misunderstand- I'm not suggesting any form of 'punishment' for her past activities," the man clarified as he brought his hand around to rub his beard. "But I don't know her. All I know is that when I was combing through databases with Hope last night, I found some information that may make her involvement in what's to come… distressing for her, and by extension, our cause."

"Because we're probably going into dust mines, which is where her parents died?" Sun asked.

"Precisely that," the general answered. "In addition to the fact that…" he sighed heavily, and steepled his hands just in front of his mouth as he closed his eyes and rested his elbows upon the table. "…I'm going to be honest with you, Sun. The faunus are _not_ well-liked here in Atlas and select parts of Mantle. The reception that you and Ilia receive will likely be unpleasant at times, and it worries me how she may react to some of the words and actions taken by our more extreme residents given her… _unique history_."

"You're afraid that she's going to get justifiably pissed off at blatant racism that's thrown our way, despite the fact that we're working with you to _save the world_ , you mean?" Sun asked icily.

General Ironwood let out a breath through his nose and opened his eyes once again, his own tone entirely neutral.

"Yes. That is exactly what I mean, Sun."

"Then can't you do anything to stop it, rather than asking me to stop _her?_ " the boy asked with a frown.

"Believe me- I've tried," General Ironwood answered. "Many leaders of Atlas Academy have tried, and racism isn't an issue that can be solved over one term, or even several. I've denounced every incident that has come across my desk and appointed Marrow Amin to my most trusted squad of special operatives, and yet, the bigotry continues. We're dealing with irrational beliefs and notions passed down through bloodlines and fostered over time, Sun. We can fight against them, yes, but expecting them to disappear anytime soon is unrealistic. Even Marrow has been subjected to terrible things despite the fact that the majority of the people in the lower city, and many in the upper one, _adore_ him. I'm asking for your advice with her, and also, for your help in… keeping her _reasonable_."

Sun made an uncomfortable noise and shifted in his seat several times, his tail writhing behind himself.

"… _fine_. I'll make sure she doesn't go overboard… and I'll do my best not to do the same. But I'm _tired_ of seeing what the Atlesian treatment does to faunus. I've seen it in Blake, I've seen it in Ilia, Corsac, and… Adam. It's even affecting Weiss, now. It's poison."

"And working alongside me to combat Salem may play a part in synthesizing a cure," General Ironwood replied evenly. " _Please_ \- just do your best to suffer through it, and I'll do what I can to help."

"…yeah," Sun answered flatly. "As for Corsac… I don't know what to tell you. He was all-in on the Fang, until Cinnamon betrayed him."

"I'm aware," General Ironwood answered as he shut off the hologram in the center of the room and raised the shutters. "I spoke to him one-on-one last night, before meeting with Dr. Polendina and Ms. Calavera."

Sun blinked rapidly as his namesake came through the window with blinding severity.

"Yeah? And how'd that go?"

"…depressingly," the general replied. "He was more than happy to simply serve out his sentence, or 'be sent to the mines', as he put it. I reassured him that such a thing wasn't an option, and he simply… shut down, for lack of a better term. He seems entirely defeated and devoid of any motivation to continue, be it through wrongdoing or otherwise. When I suggested the possibility that he could work alongside you, he seemed rather indifferent. I'm not sure what to make of him, though his crimes _do_ warrant imprisonment."

"He's lost _everything_ ," Sun pointed out. "His brother was killed in the raid on the Belladonna mansion, and the cause he fought for for so long betrayed him the second its leadership shifted. He was on a quest for vengeance against Ilia for a while, but now… it all must seem fairly pointless."

"And yet, he has been around and seen the relic, at the very least," General Ironwood stated. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's also heard talk of it, along with Salem. That makes him a potential liability, and that makes our options limited."

"…yeah. Yeah, it really does," Sun agreed. He sat silently for a long while, all too aware that the general's piercing eyes were still upon him as he pondered his options. "Would you be willing to just… put him in one of the rooms near ours, and let me talk to him, sometime this week? See if I can get him on board to work with us? I know he probably deserves to just be thrown into a cell, but he _did_ put himself on the line by fighting with us at the docks. I'm not the type of guy to just abandon someone in need."

"You are aware that doing such a thing places all responsibility for his actions from this point forward squarely upon your shoulders, should he choose to work alongside us," General Ironwood pointed out.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know," Sun snarled as he flicked his tail in annoyance. "You know, I really _do_ think you're trying your best to protect Remnant and that you mean everything you've said today… but you've got a talent for covering your ass and slipping in little insurances along the way. I mean, I get it- you need to look out for yourself, but so do I, and I can't help but feel like I'm kinda getting forced into a no-win situation with this, _and_ with the racism issue."

General Ironwood offered Sun a humorless smirk.

"And you've got a talent for reading people. I am indeed 'covering my ass', Sun. With the stunt I'm about to pull regarding Amity Coliseum and the announcement of Salem to the world, I _cannot_ afford a scandal- especially one involving faunus, which could turn Atlas against me in addition to Mantle. Many people in Mantle view me negatively given how tight-lipped I've been about recent policy decisions in the leadup to this project, and that anger is only going to boil higher as time goes on."

The general rose from his seat and clasped his hands behind his back, before beginning to pace as he continued.

"If I make a move that's seen as too unfavorable, things could quickly get out of hand, especially considering we're going behind the backs of the other members of the Atlesian High Council just before an election. Make no mistake- I'm asking you to be a potential scapegoat for the greater good. I hope it doesn't come to that, and I mean that. However… the possibility is there. Shit rolls downhill, as they say, and you've just arrived at the bottom of mine. It's nothing personal, and if I had my way, I'd rather not do this to you… but the situation is what it is. I'm sorry. Truly."

Sun sat in stunned silence for a moment as the older man came to a stop and faced him. The two locked eyes as Sun shook his head, and finally let out a sigh.

"…you know, I feel like if _all_ of our leaders were this up front about screwing us, I'd be more on board with politics in general," Sun mused. "And again… I get it. If I didn't believe in what we're doing as much as I do, I'd probably be pretty pissed off right now, but… I get it. Your situation sucks."

"You have no idea," General Ironwood replied as he walked back around his desk. "So does yours, honestly, and I _will_ be doing all that I can to make it up to you over time, starting with this. Join me."

Sun rose from his seat and walked to the desk, unable to deny his own curiosity as General Ironwood pulled a small case up from beneath the furniture. The man undid the latch to reveal a velvet cushioning inside that housed a number of sleek, jet black scrolls.

"These are now yours," the general began. "State of the art, heavily encrypted, and the very same model that the Aces use. All of their contact information, as well as mine and Winter's, is preloaded into them, and you can easily transfer your own to these devices by adding the data chips from your scrolls. The first of many gifts to help you not just in our work together, but personally."

Sun quietly lifted one of the devices and snapped it open. The scroll gave a satisfying _clack_ as it extended outward, revealing far more buttons than he was used to.

"…fancy," Sun commented. "And definitely an upgrade. Thanks."

"Secondly… I have a task for you, beyond delivering these to your team," General Ironwood began. "Each of you will need to stop by the R&D lab on the floor just below this one. You're working for Atlas, now, and that means you have access to Atlesian technology… and Atlesian _money_. Leave your weapons with the techs there, and I will assign them to complete any upgrades you desire this week, free of charge. The same offer is on the table for armor and combat outfits, tailored to your liking."

"Whoa," Sun answered with a small chuckle. "For real? And they can get it done in a _week?_ "

"Likely less," the general answered with a smile. "You'll need top of the line gear for what's to come, so don't skimp or be bashful. Your room keycards will grant you access to the lab."

"Cool. Thanks," Sun replied with a smile of his own.

"That should suffice for today," General Ironwood offered as he closed the box of scrolls and pushed it toward Sun. "Is there anything you'd like to ask me, before setting out?"

Sun mulled the question over while tilting his head, before he held up three fingers.

"…three things, yeah."

"By all means," General Ironwood answered while sweeping his hand out in a welcoming motion.

"…Dr. Polendina and Ms. Calavera. Where are they?" Sun asked.

"Given that they know about the relics, they are both staying in R&D for the time being, for their safety," General Ironwood answered. "I've given them housing not unlike your own and sent a few of the Aces to secure and transport Dr. Polendina's materials from his own lab to ours."

"Huh. Cool," Sun replied. "And… Hope? What's her role? I know Winter's your second in command, the Aces are your special ops…"

"Hope is the protector of Mantle, as well as my personal assistant," General Ironwood answered. "She's typically on patrol when she isn't needed here, and you have her contact information as well, in your new scrolls. Feel free to coordinate with her if you take on any freelance jobs in Mantle."

"I will, for sure," Sun replied. "And… lastly… this is probably a big ask, but I don't think it's particularly unreasonable, given what you're asking _me_ to put up with. Can I… have that footage? The stuff from Beacon, and the Vytal tournament? Preferably all of it, if you would."

General Ironwood raised a brow.

"…hm. I don't see why not. All I ask is that you reserve it for personal use, between you and your team."

"Gotcha. I will," Sun answered with a nod. "Then… I guess I'll head out and do what I can to face the day."

"That's all any of us can do, right now," the general replied. "Keep up the good work and familiarize yourself with our facilities as you see fit. Oh- and stop by the med bay for a physical, sooner than later. We'll need a full medical history for all of you."

"I'll let 'em know," Sun replied as he grabbed the case of scrolls. "See you around, Sir."

"You will, yes. I'm trusting you to share whatever information I give to you in meetings like this with your team, Sun… and to package it in a way that they'll be able to deal with it. You know them… and I feel as though I know you, on some level. You and I aren't so different, unless I'm wildly mistaken. I'm trusting you to handle this in a way that's best for your people, and therefore, our cause. I want to keep communication between you and I open and honest, at all times," the general finished.

Sun nodded slowly, his expression serious.

"I'll… make it happen. Gonna need some time to think about how to present things to each of them, but… yeah. I'll live up to what you think you see in me. I've got this."

General Ironwood offered the boy a small nod and watched in silence as Sun turned and made his way out of the room. Almost immediately, he used his remote to lock the office door before sitting at his desk and pulling up the hologram footage of Amity Coliseum once again. The man brought up a holographic keyboard and began to scroll through the video until it rested upon footage of Penny, standing across from Ruby Rose. General Ironwood rubbed idly at his chin as he furrowed his brows and began to weigh his options.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

…yeah. We're absolutely breaking 100 chapters before Volume 7 is over. There's a _lot_ to cover, and we're just getting started. Ruby's crew will get some love next time, alongside a little detour for Weiss…

 **-RD**


	85. Something Slightly Off

"And when you're done with it, just leave it at the garage in Vale City. My boys will know what to do."

"Thank you!" Ruby sang as she accepted the set of keys with a wide smile. "We'll take good care of it!"

The attendant tipped their sun-bleached cap with a grunt of affirmation and turned to walk back into the building at the far end of the lot.

"…and you're sure we're all gonna fit in this thing?" Sage asked with a hint of skepticism as he looked over the waiting pickup truck. The vehicle was slightly worn down and had a candy-red paint job interspersed with patches of rust. A length of greasy rope was coiled in the bed, and a pair of truck nuts hung valiantly beneath the license plate.

"We'll make it work. Additionally- _shotgun_ ," Ren called as he raised a finger.

" _Ren!_ " Nora whined as she balled her fists and put them upon her hips. "How is that fair!?"

"Well… the three of us _are_ the smallest out of the group," Oscar pointed out with a nod as he tried to tear his eyes from the distracting decoration at the rear of the vehicle. "It makes the most sense for the two of us and Ruby to occupy the back seat together."

"Yup!" Ruby chirped as she walked up to the truck and knocked the back of her fist against the door. "Besides- we won't be on the road for _that_ long. And hey- we can whisper about the boys without them knowing!"

"… _I'm_ one of the boys!" Oscar protested with a look of indignation.

"…get in the truck, Oscar," Sage said with a roll of his eyes as he opened the door and hopped up into the driver's seat.

Oscar let out a heavy sigh as he followed Ruby into the truck and scooted over to sit between her and Nora. The redheaded girl followed along and closed the door behind herself, before gently poking a finger into Ren's shoulder from behind.

"Yes, Nora?" he asked as he turned to look into the back seat.

"Nothing," Nora sang as she leaned back into her seat and folded her arms behind her head. "Just getting you ready for what's to come for the entire ride."

Ren slowly leaned back to sit properly in his seat as he drew in a long breath through his nose. He gave Sage a serious look as the larger boy began to reverse out of the lot and spoke in a low voice.

"…should I throw myself out of the vehicle at any point during our journey, do not bother to turn around."

Sage snorted in amusement as he pulled out onto the main road and began to drive.

"You got it."

"So!" Ruby said enthusiastically as she clapped her hands together. "How long are we thinkin'? A few days, a few hotel stops, and then we're home?"

Oscar lurched forward and held the sides of his head as his eyes flashed a sudden green.

"Yes. I would estimate it as a three or four day drive, should we stop at night to rest. Four is more realistic."

"That's not so bad, I guess," Nora replied with a shrug. "It'll allow us all to have some time to just kinda… chill out and think, you know?"

"Yeah," Ruby replied wistfully. "Still, though, that entire last day, I'll be checking my scroll for Dad's signal and driving myself crazy. If it doesn't show up…"

"Hey," Sage cut in as he caught Ruby's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Don't start talking like that. We handle it a day at a time and figure it out as we go. We'll make it happen."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed as she folded her hands in her lap. "Yeah, you're right."

"And it also gives us plenty of time to just talk, too. About what's going on, or anything on our minds as things come up," Nora offered as she reached across Oscar and laid her hand atop Ruby's.

Ruby gave Nora a soft smile, before Oscar's eyes widened and he suddenly began to squirm.

"U-um… Nora? Your arm is… kinda…"

"Oh. Back with us?" Nora teased as she returned her hand to the seat beside herself. "Relax, Oscar."

"Do I even want to know what's going on back there?" Ren asked as he rolled his eyes and folded his arms.

"Nope. Definitely not," Ruby replied while giving Nora a knowing look.

"Not at _all_ ," the other girl confirmed.

* * *

Weiss let out a groan of protest as she finished buttoning the top of her Atlas Academy uniform, her shoulder burning all the while. She hissed and pulled a face as she rolled her shoulder to try to chase away the pain, only for the sensation to intensify.

"…I seriously can't believe you've been going _days_ without getting that checked out," Yang said flatly from her place upon the couch. The blonde was hunched over a bowl of cereal, and back into her usual outfit of black pants and a leather jacket.

"Adrenaline has been keeping me going up to this point," Weiss replied. "Honestly, outside of the initial impalement, I've barely felt it at all until I woke up. My mind has been too preoccupied with other things. Now, though… I really shouldn't delay any longer."

"And you're sure you don't want me to come with you to the infirmary?" her teammate asked again. "We've all gotta head down there soon anyway, according to Sun."

"No, I'll be fine. It honestly doesn't hurt that badly," Weiss insisted as she made her way to the door. "I've got other stops to make as well, and I don't want to bore you with them."

"…other stops _after_ you get your shoulder checked out, right?" Yang asked with a hint of an edge in her voice.

"…perhaps," Weiss replied without meeting Yang's eyes.

"Hey, speaking of Sun and what he said," Ilia cut in as she returned from the kitchenette with a paper plate holding a bagel slathered with cream cheese, "you two aren't _actually_ going to transfer all of your contacts and shit to the new scrolls, are you?"

Weiss raised a brow as she watched the faunus settle onto the L-shaped couch, placing herself perpendicular to Yang.

"Why _wouldn't_ we?"

"…because there are _obviously_ trackers put into those things," Ilia pointed out before taking a bite of her bagel and beginning to talk around the mass of food. "Use 'em, sure, but don't just throw away your old scrolls and rely on these new ones. If we have to ditch 'em eventually, we'll be totally screwed."

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes.

"And why, pray tell, would we have to 'ditch' these new scrolls? I thought you were coming around on General Ironwood?"

"… _ish_ ," Ilia clarified with a middling hand motion. "I'm just sayin', though, it's probably not a great idea to put all of our eggs in one basket just yet. You're meeting up with that Robyn Hill chick, aren't you? We've already seen that she and the Aces don't play well together, and I get the feeling she and Ironwood probably aren't on the best terms. Given the fact that she's running against your dad for a council seat, I get the feeling that you'll be buying whatever she's selling. What are you going to do if it comes down to supporting her or following orders from Ironwood?"

Weiss immediately looked away from Ilia and occupied herself with rubbing her shoulder as she fell silent.

"…well, shit," Yang commented as she crossed her feet atop the coffee table. "I wasn't expecting you to be thinking ten steps ahead when it comes to political garbage, Ilia."

The smaller girl shrugged and licked a fluff of cream cheese off her finger.

"I was _Fang_. I pay attention to the way the winds are blowing, but I _do_ definitely agree with Ironwood on one thing- we've gotta keep the lines of communication open throughout this whole shitshow, and let each other know what we're all thinking. Otherwise, this could get bad _really_ fast. Keep your old scrolls, people."

"…will do," Weiss confirmed. "And… thank you, Ilia. I know you're just trying to look out for us."

"What can I say?" the faunus replied with a shrug. "You guys are the first group I've run with that treats me like an equal and _actually_ cares. I'm just trying to return the favor, in my own bitchy little way."

"I think it's cute," Yang offered with a smirk. "Every team needs a bitch to keep the others on track, anyway."

"You think I'm cute, huh?" Ilia lilted while putting on an innocent face.

" _Right_ , well, I'll see you both later," Weiss said airily before turning and stepping out into the hall. A moment later she breathed a long, annoyed sigh while shaking her head. "At the rate those two are going, I may need that third room to myself after all…"

The doors at the end of the wing whirred softly as they slid apart to let Weiss through into another seemingly impossibly long hallway around a corner. Again, the corridor was set up with bright fluorescent lights mounted into simple brackets along the walls, giving the entire space a clean and robotic look. It wasn't long before Weiss made her way through another set of sliding doors and turned into a third hallway, the only difference from the previous one being a set of dark purple lines painted high up near the ceiling and running the length of the corridor.

Weiss let out a small groan of frustration at the sight and began to walk once again, her heels clicking loudly against the tile floor as she went. The constant, echoing noise caused her head to begin to throb in time with her shoulder, and she hissed as she rolled her entire arm once again to try to alleviate some of the pain.

"…something wrong?"

Weiss squeaked in surprise at the sudden interruption of her thoughts and took several steps backward as a familiar and much taller figure stepped out into her path from a nearby doorway.

"Err… Elm, wasn't it?" Weiss tried as she instinctually folded her hands before herself and offered the other woman a slight tip of her head.

"So, you remembered me?" the older woman asked with a wide smile. "Good! That's good. Honestly, I'm a little surprised. Given how quickly everything was moving yesterday, I figured you and yours would have no idea which of us was which by this morning. Need some guidance?"

Weiss paused for a moment to look the woman over and commit her features to memory. Elm's skin was dark, though not as dark as Marrow's, and her milk chocolate hair was short and messy in a style not dissimilar to Ilia's new haircut. Though her entire frame was unusually large for a woman and quite imposing, Weiss' eyes were immediately drawn to the woman's bare arms.

In her casual outfit of baggy white pants and a black tank top, Elm's arms seemed to almost burst from the sides of her top like tree trunks that had been mistakenly attached to her body. The subtle outlines of veins ran down her biceps and served to give a clear and frightening idea of the woman's potential strength, and Weiss couldn't help but wonder if even Yang would stand a chance against her in an arm wrestling competition. Her gut feeling told her _no_.

"Oh, I… perhaps," Weiss stammered as she tore her eyes from Elm's impressive musculature and locked them instead upon the woman's own. "I'm on my way to the infirmary. I'm guessing it's on one of the lower floors?"

"The lowest floor," Elm clarified. "It's pretty far into the back of the building, and a pretty long walk from the elevator. The emergency entrance is clear on the other side of the Academy, so you're in more or less the most inconvenient spot possible right now if you're in pain."

"… _great_ ," Weiss grumbled as her shoulders slumped. "I'd hate to tear you away from anything important…"

"Oh, no worries!" the woman offered with a wide smile. "I've got nothing going on right now, actually. You headed there for your physical?"

Weiss cried out in pain as Elm clapped a heavy hand around her back and directly against the back of her shoulder. Sheer agony shot through her entire arm at the forceful contact, and she very nearly fell over as her vision danced with black dots.

" _A-ah!_ My… m-my shoulder…" Weiss whined in a quivering voice. "I have a wound on my shoulder…"

"Oh!" Elm exclaimed before she immediately drew back her hand and scratched the back of her head. "My bad! But in that case, I have another idea. Come on, this will be much quicker than going all the way down to the infirmary."

"R-right," Weiss replied as she began to follow the other woman, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes as she held her shoulder and mentally cursed her companion. "And it's… it's fine. You didn't know."

"Still," Elm protested as she led the way out into the lobby in front of General Ironwood's office. "It seems like you've all been through a lot. You shouldn't let yourself suffer needlessly."

Weiss grumbled softly to herself as she watched Elm swipe her I.D. into a reader leading to the hall opposite of the ones that eventually led to her team's living quarters.

"I have my reasons…"

"I'm sure you do. Still, we're all on the same side," Elm reminded. "The Aces are allies on and off the field, and we take care of our own when it comes to things like this. We're headed to Marrow's suite."

"Oh?" Weiss asked while trying to put her finger on what about Elm's phrasing suddenly bothered her.

"He's our field medic, in addition to the other roles he plays. He can patch you up and at least make the pain manageable for a bit," Elm explained as the pair walked through yet another set of doors and around another corner. "Besides, he's the friendly sort, and I'm sure he'd be more than happy to distract you by holding down a conversation while he does whatever he does."

"…are you _not_ the friendly sort?" Weiss asked, feeling increasingly more awkward as time went on. "You seem nice enough to me."

" _Ha!_ " Elm laughed as she came to a stop outside of a door on the side of the hall. "I'd like to think I'm a people person, but I also don't know you all that well, and I'm not sure where you stand just yet. Maybe once I see you on the field, or in the training room, we can get a little more amicable. For now, though, let's get you patched up."

Weiss furrowed her brows as she watched Elm jab a finger into a green button on a small black box positioned beside the door.

"Hey, Marrow!" Elm called into the device. "You busy?"

A few moments passed before the door slid open to reveal a sleepy-looking canine faunus clad only in long, dark blue pajama pants with cartoonish white bones scattered upon the fabric and a white drawstring hanging freely from their waist. The man's dark hair hung untied and almost down to his shoulders in messy curtains. His arms were quite muscular despite being around half the size of Elm's, and his stomach sported the faint outlines of a six pack in progress. He lazily raised a hand up to cover his mouth as he yawned, only to cut the motion short as he caught sight of Weiss. His eyes immediately widened and he gave the girl a sheepish, seemingly embarrassed smile as his tail thumped lightly against the doorframe.

" _Oh!_ Hey there! Lemme get dressed real quick, and I'll be right with you!"

"Take your time," Weiss offered with a small smile of her own as she averted her eyes from the man's bare chest.

"Marrow, it's almost two in the afternoon!" Elm scolded as she folded her arms across her chest, smiling even wider than the faunus as the door slid shut. She immediately pressed the button upon the intercom once again and continued, her amusement clear in her tone. "You can't be answering the door half-naked when we have guests around, even if she _does_ seem to enjoy it!"

Weiss' cheeks burned as she brought up a fist and coughed lightly into it.

"Elm, please don't be too harsh with him," she protested. "After all, we're intruding upon his home…"

"Eh, it's fine," the woman replied as she waved away the suggestion with a dismissive hand before clapping it upon Weiss' good shoulder. "He'll take good care of you, and I guarantee you he doesn't mind. See you soon, kiddo."

"You're not staying?" Weiss asked as she blinked in surprise.

"Huh? No, of course not," Elm said with a laugh as she slipped her hand off of Weiss and began to walk down the hall. "Like you said- it's his place, and I don't want to get in the way. We'll talk again soon. Hope you feel better."

Weiss shifted uncomfortably as she watched Elm swipe her I.D. into a reader next to a different door father down the hallway. She walked inside without another word, leaving Weiss very much alone in the hall. The former heiress had only a moment to look down at the floor in disappointment before Marrow's door slid open once again, and she locked eyes with the faunus as he stood before her. In contrast to his previous appearance, he was fully clad in his formal Ace Ops uniform of white pants and a formal jacket splashed with blue and red, as well as a crimson ascot wrapped firmly around his neck. His hair was tied back into a sort of short, reversed ponytail against the back of his head, and he smelled faintly of cologne. The man offered her a hand along with his usual winning smile, and she took it with a bemused smirk as he swept the other toward the inside of his flat.

"Sorry you had to see me like that, Miss Schnee," Marrow offered. "I tend to sleep late when I can get away with it."

"Please, don't apologize," Weiss replied as a soft banging noise started to resound throughout the hallway. She quirked a brow until she realized that the source of the racket was once again the man's tail hitting the doorframe, and the realization only made her faint blush intensify. "After all, I'm the one who came calling."

"Well, I'm glad that you did," Marrow reassured as he guided Weiss inside. "What can I do for you?"

Weiss opened her mouth to reply as she made it past the foyer, where a simple closet and several sets of shoes stood waiting. Upon catching sight of the main room of the penthouse, however, her mind seemed to shut down as she tried to process what she was seeing.

"Oh… oh _my_ …"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Add Marrow's pajama pants to the theoretical _What You Stole_ merch store.

Ruby's crew will get much more attention once they arrive at Taiyang's Bachelor Pad of Disappointment. They're honestly not at all important until that point, but they'll continue to get a bonding scene here and there while on the road for funsies and character development. For now, though, expect some more focus on Weiss, Sun, Ilia, Blake, and one or two others for the next few chapters. Things are about to get even more complicated and tense in Atlas...

 **-RD**


	86. Things Get Awkward

Weiss swallowed a lump in her throat as she looked out over the floor of the penthouse in stunned silence. Though she managed to halt the rest of her thoughts from spilling out of her mouth, she failed to contain one of her eyebrows as it rose nearly into her hairline.

"…yeah. Um… sorry if this isn't really what you're used to. My bad," Marrow offered with a guilty grin as he moved deeper into the room ahead of Weiss. The faunus picked up a pizza box from the stack of three atop the coffee table, and hastily tossed it down to rest beside one of the legs of the table.

The rest of the room was in a similar state of disarray, and the articles of clothing, containers, magazines, video game cases, free weights, and stacks of papers scattered all throughout the living space seemingly had no rhyme or reason to their placement. The apartment itself was well cared for and filled with expensive furniture and accents that had likely come with the room, but nearly every surface from the couch to the kitchenette had _something_ atop or draped over it that clearly didn't belong there. It was enough to cause Weiss' breath to catch in her chest as she tried to imagine simply _living_ within the absolute mess, let alone getting anything done.

"No, no, it's… quite fine," Weiss insisted with the widest smile she could manage. "After all… I lived with Yang for almost a full year, so this is fairly normal to me…"

"Yang's the blonde girl, right?" Marrow asked over his shoulder as he cleared what seemed to be a stack of classified reports off a spot on the couch.

"She is, yes," Weiss confirmed as she gingerly took a step closer to the faunus. She opened her mouth to continue, only to spot a display of action figures lined up along the mantle in a very particular order. A duo of figurines of a teenage boy with what appeared to be brightly-colored gas seeping from his arms and a coquettish girl with a bright pink gem inlaid in the skin just below her collarbone caught Weiss' eye, and she turned to consider them. They were each wearing matching blue jumpsuits of deep blue with white stripes around the chest and legs in distinct patterns, and sported heavily stylized facial features that reminded Weiss of the art style of some cartoon that Ruby insisted on watching daily back at Beacon.

"Is something wr-…" Marrow began, only to suck in a breath as he followed Weiss' gaze. "… _yeah_ , I… have a collection of stuff like that. I swear it's not as bad as it looks in here! I'm uh, I'm in the process of reorganizing!"

Weiss shook her head and folded her arms across her chest as she turned to face Marrow. She hissed in pain as she completed the motion, though she tried to play it off as nothing while her shoulder burned in protest.

"Honestly, I think it's… _cute_. We all have our vices, Marrow. There are far worse ones than collecting action figures."

" _Statues_ ," Marrow emphasized as he finally cleared off the coffee table by placing the last of the pizza boxes into a neat stack next to the furniture. "They're statues, not action figures..."

"…what's the difference?" Weiss inquired as she moved to sit upon the couch while tilting her head. She realized only after she sat down that Marrow's dog bone pajama pants had been hastily thrown over the back of the sofa, and one of the legs was right next to her head. The material was wrinkled and frumpy, as though it hadn't been washed for several days.

"Statues are _much_ cooler and more expensive! They can't be posed, since they're sculpted into one position," Marrow explained as he disappeared briefly behind the couch. "Statues are more adult collectibles…"

"Are they?" Weiss asked, unable to contain her teasing grin as she listened to Marrow rummaging behind the couch. "I have yet to meet another adult who has quite such a display…"

"…listen, I think they're cool, alright?" Marrow answered as he rose back into Weiss' line of sight. "My suite, my decorations," he added somewhat defensively, his face pulled into an exaggerated pout.

Weiss laughed lightly as she held up her hands in surrender, before fixing Marrow with a devilish smirk.

"If you think they're cool, then they're cool," the girl admitted with a noncommittal shrug.

"You don't mean that," Marrow stated flatly as he sat down next to Weiss while putting a medical bag up onto the coffee table. He sighed heavily and tucked a strand of hair back behind his ear, before giving Weiss a nod. "May I take a look at your shoulder?"

Weiss blinked in surprise as she watched Marrow take out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and several gauze pads, along with various other supplies.

"How did you…?"

"It's obvious," the faunus said quickly. "You're not great at hiding your pain, and crossing your arms sealed it. There's something nasty going on up there, isn't there? Is that why Elm brought you by?"

Somehow, the words seemed to cut through Weiss' chest like a hot knife. She made an uncomfortable noise as she shifted in her spot upon the couch and tried to refocus.

"I… yes, it is," Weiss admitted as she began to shuffle out of her uniform jacket. "I was impaled through the shoulder two days ago, and I've just been dealing with the pain ever since."

Marrow paused his gathering of supplies to give Weiss a rather serious look.

"…don't do that. _Please_ , for your sake, and for everyone else who cares about you. I know you probably didn't have access to a medic on your boat, but to just let it go like that is bad, Weiss. You could cause permanent damage, if the wound is serious enough…"

"Actually… I _did_ have access," Weiss confessed as she slipped her tie out from around her collar and began to unbutton her blouse. "Jaune can boost the strength of aura and use it for healing purposes. After his initial efforts, I… turned him down, while we were on our way here."

Marrow blinked several times, looking aghast. His eyes never left Weiss' face as she finally discarded her shirt and draped it over Marrow's pajamas.

" _Why?_ " the faunus asked. "Please don't tell me you're about to say that you didn't want to bother him, or something like that. This is serious."

"No, no, I'm not quite that noble," Weiss said as she waved away the suggestion with her good arm. "Ilia's arm was broken long before I was stabbed, and Jaune has been tending to her on a daily basis for quite a while now. He's _exhausted_ , and I didn't want to put even more strain on his semblance and mental health. I'm at least functional, and Ilia regaining the use of her arm took priority over my pain. That's why I wanted to wait until we arrived in Atlas, given that we were fairly close by."

Marrow heaved a dramatic sigh and shook his head. The man let out an annoyed grumble before scooting a bit closer upon the couch, his eyes still firmly upon Weiss' face despite her lack of clothing.

"I get it, but… _still_. May I inspect your wound?"

"Of course," Weiss replied as she raised a brow. "You're rather… _careful_ , for a medic."

"I prefer 'respectful', and I have to be," Marrow countered as he finally allowed himself to look down at Weiss' chest. Just to the side of her white bra strap was a large stab wound with jagged edges. The skin around the cut was an angry, inflamed red. "You wouldn't believe some of the accusations that get thrown around when I'm tending to civilians out in the field."

"Because you're still relatively green?" Weiss asked as Marrow laid his hand upon her shoulder, just above the wound. His touch was gentle and warm, though even the light impact of his fingers was enough to make Weiss recoil slightly as shooting pain blazed through her collarbone.

"Because I'm a faunus," Marrow corrected. "I've got a tail, so I must be doing this just to get off. Rapist, fraud, I've heard it all while examining people I had to disrobe to fix wounds that would otherwise kill them. The second most popular question I get while checking somebody out is 'are there any _human_ medics on your team?"

Weiss fell silent as Marrow continued to examine her injury. The man gently helped her turn sideways as he transitioned his hands to her back, where the wound was a bit smaller and more scarred over. Weiss made a point of avoiding Marrow's eyes as he worked, and her voice grew very small.

"It's… that bad up here, is it? People are that far gone when it comes to the faunus?"

"…I thought you grew up here?" Marrow questioned as he went about dousing a cotton ball in alcohol.

"I did, yes," Weiss confirmed as she folded her hands into her lap. "But in all honesty, I didn't really leave the Schnee manor often. I've only been down to Mantle a handful of times, and I… never really paid attention to other people when I was out shopping in Atlas. It's easy to shut out the rest of the world when you're so sheltered and escorted everywhere by guards. To be honest, the faunus and their plight never _really_ made sense to me until I learned that one of my teammates had been hiding feline ears from me for months. It's all still fairly recent…"

Marrow grimaced as he listened to the girl, though he kept his tone entirely neutral.

"…hey, this is gonna sting a bit, okay?" he asked as he raised his cotton ball into her line of sight.

"…it already does," Weiss said softly as she finally forced herself to look the faunus in the eye once again. "Marrow, I'm _so_ sorry for my fam-"

" _Stop_ ," Marrow commanded as he shook his head. "This isn't the time or the place, and unlike a lot of people, humans _and_ faunus, you're doing something to help all of Remnant. Between that, and the fact that you haven't treated me, Sun, or Ilia any differently since I met you is enough to put you in my good books." He gingerly pressed the cotton ball to Weiss' shoulder and began to wipe away flecks of dried blood from her snow-white skin. "Well… other than criticizing my statues, that is."

Weiss rolled her eyes and found herself smiling through the pain, both physical and otherwise.

"…I _did_ say they were cool."

"But did you mean it?" Marrow questioned as he lifted Weiss' arm and went about properly cleaning the wound.

"…maybe," Weiss teased before gritting her teeth as the scarred tissue around her shoulder ruptured.

"Easy," Marrow cautioned. "This looks infected, which isn't really shocking. I'll take you down to the infirmary after I get you cleaned up and pull some strings to get you what you need more quickly. I'm gonna get you on antibiotics and find a support brace, so you can still move. When does it hurt, generally?"

"It would be easier to tell you when it doesn't," Weiss answered as she watched Marrow remove a needle from his bag and sterilize the area around her shoulder with more alcohol. "It's been worse than ever this morning, but I think that's because adrenaline has been dampening the effects until now."

"Likely true," Marrow agreed. "Fighting with us on the docks probably didn't help matters. You need to rest for a few days, at the very least. Put physical strain off your 'to-do' list and focus on healing."

"I will," Weiss reassured as Marrow injected her shoulder. A cold sensation spread throughout her muscles, and she shivered softly. "But with all of that out of the way… I don't want to wave our previous conversation aside. I've been thinking a _lot_ about the faunus and their situation lately, and in whatever downtime we have in Atlas, I want to help. I want to make up for what my family has done to your people. I want to become an _active_ and public force for faunus advocacy, and Sun wants to help, too."

"Well… that would be nice, yeah," Marrow encouraged as he began to slowly stitch Weiss' wound with mechanical precision. "But seriously- don't overdo it. If you want to have some awkward conversations and see what it's like in Mantle, I'd be happy to help out and signal boost your efforts. Just be aware that you're asking for trouble, and for a _lot_ of hate from both sides. People aren't really quick to forgive, unfortunately."

"You seem to be," Weiss pointed out as she watched Marrow work.

"That's because I believe in people," the faunus explained. "I can be your go-to guy for helping out the faunus in Mantle and Atlas. Some setbacks and nasty words aren't going to slow me down."

"I really don't deserve your kindness," Weiss lamented as she looked down to her hands while Marrow finished his last stitch. "Thus far, all I've really done is show up with my team and start requesting help."

Weiss bristled as she suddenly found herself enveloped in a warm, yet gentle embrace. The hug was too brief for her to even consider returning it, though the shock of the careful squeeze that Marrow offered was more than enough to give her a small rush of comfort throughout her chest.

" _Everyone_ deserves kindness," Marrow corrected as he began to store his equipment back into his bag. "Now, c'mon. Chin up, and start believing we've got this. Your recovery, procuring gravity dust, getting Amity in place, and helping out the faunus. We can get it all done, _especially_ with your help."

Weiss merely stared as Marrow stood and offered her a hand. She shook her head and smiled as she took it in her own and pulled herself up to stand beside him.

"Where _do_ you get your endless positivity from?" Weiss asked before taking her shirt off the back of the couch and beginning to cover herself up once again.

Marrow merely shrugged, and zipped his medical bag closed.

"For a long time, it's really all I had to keep me going. But that's a story for another time… if ever."

"I'd like to hear it," Weiss offered as she finished buttoning her blouse. "Maybe… we could make a day of cleaning this place soon, and talk some more? About the faunus, about you, and about our goals…"

Marrow blinked and paused, before scratching feverishly behind an ear. He tried to suppress an enthusiastic grin at the suggestion, though his tail betrayed his excitement almost immediately as it began to whip frantically from side to side. Finally, he gave up, and allowed a smile to burst forth.

"…uh, yeah! That sounds good to me!" the faunus said with a nod. "I guess… I really have let this place get away from me, lately. There's just a lot going on, you know, and cleaning is… not fun…"

"It _can_ be, with a friend," Weiss offered with a shrug as she picked up her Academy jacket and tucked it beneath her shoulder.

"…a friend would be nice to have, up here," Marrow grumbled as his expression turned suddenly dark.

Weiss paused, her face unreadable as she felt a chill at the sudden shift in Marrow's tone.

"…the other Aces aren't your friends…?"

"That's…" Marrow began, only to trail off as he made his way toward the door with Weiss in tow. "… _complicated_ ," he finished with a weary sigh.

"I don't see why it should be," Weiss protested as she made her way into the hall behind the faunus. "Friendship is what made Team RWBY as strong as we were, in some ways. It helps to really understand your colleagues on a level beyond what they can do in combat."

"I'm sure it does," Marrow agreed. He cleared his throat, before making his way toward the sliding door at the end of the hall. Suddenly, his enthusiasm returned, as though nothing had been amiss. "But anyway! Let's get you all braced up and go from there! We're burning daylight, after all."

"…sure," Weiss said hesitantly as she kept her eyes on Marrow's back. Her mind raced with uncomfortable thoughts as they made their way into the lobby together. The pair was silent from there to the infirmary.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Next time, we'll get back to Blake. That's gonna be a fun one…

 **-RD**


	87. Bloody Roar

Blake narrowed her eyes as she held Gambol Shroud up beside her cheek, its blade pointed across the wooden docks toward her opponent. The faunus' breathing was quick and shallow as she searched the other girl's eyes and found only amusement in contrast to her own frustration.

"Oh, _come on_ ," Amaya taunted in a husky tone as she whirled her hookswords and held them out to the sides in a welcoming gesture. "You can do better than _that_ , Blake. I might have a few years on you, but you've got Fang and Academy training. Stop holding back! I can take it!"

"I've also got a lot of things on my mind," Blake spat back as she looped the velvet ribbon at her weapon's base around her free hand and pulled the length taut. "That's the entire reason I asked for your help. I'm not at my best right now, and I need my head back in the game. I'm _trying_ , Amaya."

The bat faunus scoffed as she spun her swords in the opposite direction and held one in front of herself in a defensive posture while raising its mate above her head.

"Well, if you're looking for someone to kick your ass back into gear, then I'd be happy to oblige. Let's see how fast you _really_ are."

Just as a wave crashed beneath the pier, Amaya dived off the side of the structure and disappeared under the wooden platform. Blake's eyes widened as she lost sight of her opponent and turned to begin a desperate sprint as she kept an eye over her shoulder. She briefly managed to catch sight of Amaya slaloming between the wooden supports below as she reached an intersection on the docks. Another wave brought a spray of water crashing up and around the pier, drenching Blake's clothing and causing her to slip just as she picked up on a subtle _whoosh_ from up ahead.

Amaya rose from beneath the pier in a spiral, beating her wings hard as she flew low along the wooden surface. Blake whipped her head back around just in time to clash blades with Amaya, though the older girl brought her unoccupied weapon around and took quick and precise aim during the deadlock. Without hesitation, she fired a hot blast of shrapnel from the shotgun mounted upon the grip of her hooksword, and the pellets flew straight through Blake's abdomen. The projectiles peppered the floor of the dock on the other side of the feline faunus as she appeared in the air above Amaya and readied a falling strike.

"Crafty little kitten," Amaya cooed as she brought up a sword to catch Blake's falling blow.

Just as the blades were set to touch, Blake instead slammed her foot into the flat of Amaya's sword and kicked off to sail over the bat faunus' back. In midflight, Blake converted Gambol Shroud into pistol form and fired off a series of rounds into Amaya. The bat managed to deflect a few of the bullets sent flying her way before a stray round grazed her shoulder, causing her aura to pulse with a hot pink ripple. She narrowed her eyes as Blake fired another round, and Amaya dropped her aura to let the bullet scrape against her upper arm. The black fabric of her t-shirt sleeve tore immediately and the deep red wound beneath began to ooze a lazy trail of blood down her arm as Blake hesitated and stared with an expression of horror.

" _Amaya!_ " Blake gasped. "Why would you… are you alright!?"

The woman merely chuckled in response as she transferred both of her hookswords to one hand. She slowly brought the other to dip a finger into her open wound, before massaging it around and widening the hole.

"…why? Because I _learn_ , Blake. I used to hate fighting grimm, because I thought my semblance was useless against them. Grimm don't bleed," the girl said with a shrug before locking eyes with Blake. "… _but I do_."

Blake's ears flattened as realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She readied her weapon as Amaya's aura flickered back to life, and the bat faunus gave her a wicked grin.

"… _shit_."

"Shit indeed, Belladonna. _Get serious_."

Blake had little time to react as a torrent of blood spewed forth from Amaya's wound and flew for her like a projectile. The feline faunus barely managed to blink out of the way as the stream of blood looped back around and formed a swirling ball in midair high above the docks. Amaya herself flew forward toward Blake as the blood ball began to fire off hardened bullets of coagulated blood at the younger girl. The weighty impacts peppered the deck with scarlet stains as they chased Blake down the docks, each of the blood bullets leaving a small crater as it hit. Out of options and desperate to find cover, Blake dived off the side of the pier and disappeared beneath the wooden planks.

Amaya was quick to follow, and found her opponent leaping back and forth by kicking off the support beams while dancing just above the turbulent water below. The blood ball lowered itself down and around the side of the pier at Amaya's command and continued to fire projectiles, while the bat herself flew parallel to the wooden structure in an effort to catch up to Blake.

"Stealing my moves, are you?" she taunted as she took aim at Blake and fired one of her hilt-mounted shotguns.

Blake manifested a clone and threw herself forward along the line of supports, narrowly dodging the blast as Amaya weaved in between the wooden columns ahead of her.

"Learning your style firsthand!" Blake called back as she deftly dodged two more shotgun shells. "This is just the kind of fight I need! I'm finally starting to fee-"

Another loud roar of Amaya's guns sounded out to cut off Blake's statement, and she noticed a second too late where the woman was aiming. The shells tore through the support beam mere inches away from Blake's incoming foot, robbing her of time to dodge or divert to another. Her body weight caused the splintering surface to fail entirely as she tried to kick off from it, and the end result saw Blake clawing at the air as she tumbled down into the shallows of the ocean while being pelted with projectiles of hardened blood. The girl disappeared beneath the surface of the water with a loud _splash_ , and Amaya immediately dispelled her blood ball to let the little remaining liquid follow her opponent down into the waves.

Amaya sheathed her swords upon her back before flying over to the shore and touching down in the sand. She folded her arms over her chest and smirked as she watched Blake's head breach the water and immediately begin to approach the beach.

"Round One goes to me," the bat faunus proclaimed confidently the moment that Blake was within earshot.

"…well deserved," the younger girl admitted as she accepted the offered hand and pulled herself back up to a standing position. "And… I guess I need to borrow more clothes from you."

Amaya snorted in amusement before clapping her hand on Blake's back and nearly causing the girl to fall over once again.

"No problem. I will say, though- you look _hot_ while wet."

Blake rolled her eyes and let out a weary sigh.

"…I have a boyfriend, I'm not into women, and I _hate_ water."

"That's something we have in common," a masculine voice called from behind the two girls. Blake's ears perked up at the familiar tone, while Amaya merely turned and gave Neptune a devious smirk as she tilted her head to one side.

"…that you have a boyfriend, or you're not into women?"

Neptune blushed hard as he watched Blake try to hide her smile in reaction to the verbal jab.

"…you are _so_ mean to me," Neptune whined at Amaya, though his grin matched her own. "And for your information? I don't have a preference, and I'm not ashamed. I'm also _aggressively_ single."

Amaya merely shrugged and punched the boy in the shoulder, nearly knocking him to the sand in the process.

"Good for you, kid. What's up?"

Neptune rubbed his shoulder and hissed before turning his attention to the other faunus.

"Well, first of all, I saw your fight, and you're _both_ crazy," the boy pointed out.

"I take that as a compliment," Amaya said as she upturned her nose and folded her arms once again while spreading her leathery wings in triumph.

"You've seen me fight before," Blake added. "Speaking of- _we_ should spar sometime soon, to keep on our toes. And maybe you should spar Amaya, too."

Neptune's eyes went wide with terror as he opened his mouth to protest, only for Amaya to cut him off.

" _Great_ idea, Blake! You and I can dance sometime soon, little boy. I can't wait to get my hands all over you."

Neptune offered only a hollow laugh and anxious smile in response as he brought a hand up to scratch at the back of his head.

"I'm… not getting out of this, am I?"

"Nope," Blake said authoritatively as she wrung out the bottom of her ill-fitting borrowed shirt. "If I have to get my ass handed to me in front of you, the least you can do is return the favor."

Neptune let out a long sigh of resignation before shaking his head and giving the girls a shrug.

" _Fine_ , fine. But anyway- I'm actually here for you, Blake. You and Qrow only scoped out the east side of the mansion yesterday, right?"

"…right," Blake said hesitantly as she stopped fiddling with her shirt. "Why, is something going on on the west side?"

"Not really… 'going on', per se, but I found something I think you're gonna want to see. It's… it may be… _difficult_ ," Neptune warned. His face fell as he watched Blake's do the same, until her eyes ended up firmly locked upon a small shell in the sand below.

"…oh. Let me get changed, and I'll… follow you on over."

" _Hey_ ," Amaya said in a breathy voice as she laid a hand onto Blake's shoulder. "I've got your back, even if I give you both shit from time to time. I can tag along, if that would make you feel better?"

"Actually… I'm not even sure if _I_ should join on this one," Neptune said slowly as he gave Amaya a serious look. "This seems like the kind of thing that Blake might want to do al-"

"No," Blake interrupted as she finally looked up and offered Neptune a miserable expression. "I _can't_ do some things alone. That's a lesson I've learned well on this journey. No matter _what_ it is that you've found, I want my friends at my side. Both of you."

Neptune gave Blake an encouraging nod, while Amaya slipped her hand off of Blake's shoulder and pointed a finger into her mouth before pretending to vomit all over the beach.

"Eugh. _Gross_."

* * *

"…she wasn't lyin'. That shirt is _way_ too big on you."

"Shut _up_ ," Blake groused as she continued walking down one of the upstairs corridors of the Belladonna mansion. Her new shirt was a faded heather grey and featured the text _THE BAT PARADE_ across her chest, along with a logo she didn't recognize.

"Not everyone can be blessed with an awesome rack," Amaya replied nonchalantly from Blake's other side. "So, Neptune- which do you prefer? Large, or small?"

"Oh, _hell_ no, I am not getting caught in this trap," Neptune replied warily as he kept his eyes on the plastic-coated walls and the charred wood beneath them. "Not while I'm next to both types and with _both_ of you more than capable of kicking my ass."

"…you think my chest is _small?_ " Blake asked in a dangerous tone.

"What? No, I didn't…! Aw, crap…" Neptune said before sucking in a nervous breath. "No, Blake, your… _chest_ is perfect, there's nothing wr-"

"So I'm too big for you, then. Got it," Amaya interrupted with a huff. "What a shame."

"No, I didn't...! Oh, screw you both!" Neptune said while throwing his hands up in the air with a flustered flourish. "Women are evil. I'm going to date men exclusively from here on out!"

Blake giggled softly and found herself a bit surprised by the sudden noise. She allowed herself a small smile before she elbowed Neptune in the side to catch his attention.

"…hey. Thanks for just… keeping me distracted. It's keeping me sane."

"At the expense of my dignity!" Neptune offered with a growl and a sigh. The boy rolled his eyes before returning Blake's little jab. "But yeah- any time, Blake. I know you'd do the same for me."

"…I'm not so sure I would," Blake admitted as the party rounded a corner. The faunus narrowed her eyes as she noticed that the wood in the hallway was uncovered, and seemingly somehow untouched by flames. "I'm… not exactly great with people, and seeing other people stressed out stresses _me_ out. I'd probably just make things worse and then feel awful."

"Do either of us seem like we have a master plan or a 'how to' guide for figuring this shit out?" Amaya asked. "We're both just winging it and hoping to keep you grounded. Give yourself a little credit- you're doing great things."

"And I'm sure you'll have the opportunity to support one or both of us soon enough," Neptune reassured as he walked ahead of the group to take another corner. "But yeah, this is what I found. It's got your emblem on the door, and it's totally untouched inside. Some kind of library, I think? I know you like books, so…"

Blake immediately froze as she caught sight of the door that Neptune was gesturing toward. Her entire body started to tremble uncontrollably as she looked at the giant Belladonna emblem painted upon the wood up and down, and her breathing quickly became erratic.

"…Blake?" Amaya questioned in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

"That's… that's my father's office…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Feels trip next time. Make sure to pack a lunch.

 **-RD**


	88. Colossus

All was silent save for the far-off footfalls of volunteers elsewhere in the manor as Blake reached out and hesitantly laid a hand on the heavy iron ring attached to the door before her. She hesitated, her lip trembling slightly as she tried to decide whether or not to open it. Before she could make the call, another hand with painted black fingernails gently fell atop hers.

"…hey," Amaya called before waiting for Blake to look over at her. "Look, I might not know specifics, but I know body language, and I can feel your pulse hammering. Take it from me- there's no shame in taking a step back from things you're not ready to confront, just yet. Doing that might cause more harm than good. This room will be here when you feel up to it, and we'll be ready to come with you when you decide it's time."

Just as slowly, a second hand wrapped in a fingerless leather glove settled atop Amaya's from Blake's other side.

"And don't think we'll judge you if you _do_ go in, and can't deal with what you see. We've all got our hang-ups and weaknesses. Based on what Sun told me about your old man, he was something special to everyone who knew him. That means he was probably even better than that, in your eyes, and seeing his office again might be… _rough_. We'll stay with you, whatever you decide."

Blake nodded, her mind swimming with possibilities as she looked down at the pair of hands atop her own.

"Neptune, you just wanted to touch my hand, didn't you?" Amaya accused.

"…maybe," the boy said with an unreadable expression as he looked around Blake and held the faunus' judgmental glare.

Blake couldn't help but smirk before heaving a sigh and shaking her head.

"Neptune, we've known each other for what feels like forever, now, even if we didn't really talk much back at school. Amaya, it's been less than a week, and I already feel like you're becoming someone I can trust with a side of myself that I don't normally show to others… so that's what I'm going to do," Blake resolved as she looked back up at the massive emblem painted upon the door. "I'm not the girl I was in the White Fang, or at Beacon. I'm done running from my problems, and saying I'll face them tomorrow. Even if it's unpleasant, I'm going to face this _now_."

Neptune and Amaya slipped their hands off of Blake's as she pulled hard upon the heavy door and took a deep breath. There just beyond the gigantic wooden portal was Ghira Belladonna's office, somehow untouched by the fire save for soot clinging to the large sliding window on the far left side of the room. A set of couches with velvety green cushions stood in the middle of the room with a familiar coffee table between them, and nearly every single wall was adorned with bookshelves filled to the brim with literature of all sorts. Off to Blake's right was Ghira's desk, the surface still piled with haphazardly strewn stacks of paperwork, never to be completed. On the wall behind the desk was a larger-than-life portrait of the man himself, looking out over the room with the stoic, unreadable gaze that Blake thought of every time her father came to mind.

" _Whoa_ ," Neptune commented softly as he followed Blake inside of the office. "This is… like something from a movie…"

The boy jumped slightly as he felt Amaya's hand grip his rear in a tight hold for a second, before she let him go and rested her elbow up onto his shoulder while leaning into him.

"Don't ruin the moment for her. You don't _always_ have to say something. We've been over this."

Neptune gave Amaya a quiet nod and swallowed hard. He slowly and carefully raised a shaking hand and tried to lightly wrap it around Amaya's waist, but stopped himself an inch from her bare lower back. Before he could decide what to do, she walked forward and began to inspect the bookshelves, none the wiser of his intent.

"Dad… spent more time in here than with Mom, when I was growing up," Blake began as she looked up into the portrait's eyes. "I was always worried about what that might mean, even though he would _always_ stop his work to make time for me, but… as I got older, I realized that Mom and Dad just had a thing that _worked_. I never really understood it, but I think… having Sun, and feeling just as close to him even when we're so far apart, I'm starting to get it. Some things just _have_ to be done, before the opportunity slips away. That's something he tried to teach me as a kid, but it's something I'm still learning now."

Neptune slowly approached Blake and stood at her side, looking up at the man in the golden frame. In truth, he found the man intimidating, but he didn't let that stop him as he cleared his throat and tried to think of what to say. Finally, he settled upon the truth.

"…we're probably the two absolute worst people on this island to give you any kind of meaningful advice and reassure you in this situation, and I feel awful because of that. But uh… do you need a h-"

Neptune stopped talking as Blake wrapped him in a tight embrace. As he realized that the girl showed no signs of letting go, he gently placed his arms around her back and returned the gesture.

"…you spent a lot of time in here as a kid?" Amaya questioned as she carefully pulled down a leather-bound book and cracked it open.

"Some of my best and worst memories are in this room, yes," Blake admitted as she pulled back from Neptune and rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. A wet trail of mascara smudged onto her skin, and Neptune froze up as the faunus turned to face Amaya.

"He used to read to me whenever I would pull books down and bring them to him, even if he was in the middle of something important. If I didn't like it, he would stop working and take me to the shelves to find one I _did_ like, before we would sit on the couch together and resume. If you look on the bottom two shelves on the opposite wall, they're all fairy tales, under rows and rows of historical records and books on economics. He always put them where I could reach them…"

"So that's where you got the love for books from?" Neptune asked, only for Blake to nod as she approached the shelf near Amaya. "That was… probably a dumb question," he added as the bat faunus narrowed her eyes at him. "Shutting up now."

"No, it's alright," Blake consoled as she read the spines of the tomes within the shelf at her eye level. She sniffled again, and her voice cracked slightly. "Sometimes, as I got a little older, he would _intentionally_ read me some of these, because he knew I hated them. That was my punishment, when I got out of line… but honestly, I even enjoyed those times, at least somewhat, just because I got to hear him read to me…"

"Ha," Amaya mused as she closed the book in her hand. "My old man used to just beat my ass when I was being a little shit. I think that's why it's so nice now, honestly. He tenderized the damned thing."

"Mine never laid a hand on me," Blake admitted. "I almost feel like he should have. Maybe then, I wouldn't have stayed behind in the White Fang when he and Mom left…"

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Amaya suggested as she watched Neptune walk to the couch facing Ghira's portrait and sit, his eyes still on the painting. "You've got an opportunity to make up for that now, and I'm sure he'd be proud of you for doing what you're doing."

Blake frowned and held her arm as she looked down at the intricately patterned carpet.

"…I'm not," she said in a small voice.

The two others in the room simply looked at Blake as she paused to collect her thoughts. Amaya meandered her way to Neptune's couch and sat heavily beside him, before crossing her legs atop the cushion and waiting silently.

"I feel like… I feel like I'm just letting everyone _else_ make the real changes, and big impacts that we need to move forward. Mom, Sun, Cinnamon, and… even Ruby and her team are all taking charge, while I'm just allowing myself to go along for the ride. I feel paralyzed right now, and even if I'm done running, I'm not ready to really step up when it matters just yet. Mom's done so much already, and to see her forced into the role of High Leader now just feels so _wrong_. She tried to warn him. She tried to warn _all_ of us, before Sun and I made a move that ultimately brought Adam to the mansion and got him killed. It should be me shouldering that burden, to make up for all the suffering I've caused, both to Mom, and my friends. Otherwise, I… I feel like I'll never be worthy of the Belladonna name. I can never reach the heights he did," Blake finished with a tearful look at her father's painting.

"…I think… you're setting the bar too high for yourself," Neptune said slowly as he leaned forward and clasped his hands between his open legs. "You're thinking like you're obligated to one day earn your portrait up there, just as big as his is. Maybe you're not meant for that… but maybe you are. Sure, he led the White Fang for several years, and led Kuo Kuana after that, but those are things that will just end up in books like the ones all around us, right now. They'll be read to someone else long after we're all gone, and Ghira Belladonna will become an idea, rather than a person. To you… you're keeping him alive inside your mind as the man he was, not the authority figure, and based on everything I've heard… he was a man who cared about people. He took Sun in and changed his life, and he welcomed you back into his own with open arms after you disappointed him on a level so severe that you thought he'd never accept you again. _That's_ the kind of thing you should aspire to, in order to make him proud. Impacting peoples' lives, even if it's just one or two. That's what would earn you the Belladonna name, and that's infinitely more doable than leading a revolution, or leading an entire village. Besides- I doubt he did all that by nineteen."

Blake finally managed to tear her eyes off the monolithic portrait and turned to face Neptune, looking somewhat stunned. One of Amaya's wings was draped lightly over his shoulder, and she wore a smug look as the boy beside her continued to speak.

"You've already made a huge difference in Sun, and trust me- I would know. Just be on the lookout for more opportunities to change peoples' lives, both here, and wherever we go moving forward. _That's_ what Belladonnas are good at, Blake. Your mom's just doing it on a grander scale because she's mastered the art. Don't feel shame because you're not there yet. Feel grateful, because your parents are still leading the way, even now. I mean, really, Ghira just led _me_ to that conclusion, from the look on his face up there alone."

Blake made her way over to the couch opposite her friends and sat down with a muted smile. She gave Neptune a nod of understanding, which he returned.

"…you're wrong. You're the _best_ person that could be here with me, right now. Thank you, Neptune."

"Anytime," Neptune offered with a million-lien smile. He jumped slightly as Amaya's wing patted his shoulder, as though he hadn't noticed the leathery appendage until that very moment.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm starving," the woman said as she interlaced her fingers and cracked them high over her head in a stretch. "Want me to go grab us some food, and bring it back here? I'm sure you've got more you could tell us about your old man, and I'm willing to listen if you want to talk more."

"I… that would be great, actually," Blake admitted as she watched Amaya slip off the couch and stand. "Thank you."

"No problem. You'll be in good hands, while I'm away," the bat said nonchalantly before slipping out of the office and closing the door behind herself.

"…I think I'm going to sleep here tonight," Blake said as she kept her eyes on the door. "I need some time to just… _be_ here. There's an energy to this room that I can't really describe."

"I get it," Neptune replied. "I'll stay, too, if you want. Or not, if you want to be alone. Either way is cool."

Blake hesitated, before finally locking eyes with Neptune once again.

"Honestly… I think I want you to stay. Could you do me a favor, though?"

"Yeah. Anything," Neptune offered as he leaned forward slightly more.

"…could you read me Sun's goodnight text for today?" Blake asked, her cheeks a bit rosy. "I feel kinda garbagy right now, and I could use it."

Neptune smirked as he leaned back into the couch cushions and took his scroll out of his pocket.

"Sure thing. Let's hope it's an extra cheesy one…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

This has been a long time coming, and it is _full_ of little hints at the future. All will become clear before the end of the Volume.

 **-RD**


	89. Seeds of Doubt

Taiyang ran a hand through his sweaty hair, the moisture slicking his fingerless leather glove as he bounced lightly on the balls of his feet.

"I know we're just sparring, but _come on_. You can do better than that, even in your old age."

Raven's nose wrinkled in a sneer as she sheathed her crimson katana and held the weapon partially behind her back while she sank into a ready stance once again.

"It's almost as though my heart's not in it, and I've got a lot on my mind, _Tai_ ," the woman spat back as she watched her former husband begin to circle her with his trident leveled at her chest.

"The less thinking we do, the better," Taiyang muttered. "Our supplies are prepped and ready, and I think I've _more_ than proven that I can still hold my own, _Raves_."

" _Don't_ ," Raven warned through gritted teeth. "You're only making it worse with that."

"What? Don't feel like thinking about how things used to be?" Taiyang taunted. "Well, too bad for you. That's _all_ I've been doing ever since you l-"

Raven dashed in with a sweeping strike, but Taiyang was ready for her. The man rotated his trident within his hands to orient the tines vertically and caught Raven's blade before bringing his weapon up and around in a small circular motion. Raven allowed herself and her sword to be swept to one side and used her free hand to swing out a vicious hook for Taiyang. The man bobbed backward and barely made it out of the way in time. As Raven spun off in the direction of her momentum, the tines of Taiyang's trident fired off from the weapon and sped through the air as projectiles. Raven dived into a roll to avoid the spiked implements, before rising to one knee and watching Taiyang reel them back in via the high-tension wires attached to the base of each tine.

"…not bad," the man commented. "But I know your tricks. Are we done yet? We should really be getting on… the…"

Taiyang trailed off as he watched a pair of angry, ethereal flames flicker at the edges of Raven's eyes. Suddenly, the leaves of the nearby trees began to jitter in the spontaneously swirling wind, and the branches soon groaned and creaked as they started to rock from side to side.

"You don't know _anything_ about the way I fight," Raven cautioned as she stood up, her shoulders tense. "And as for leaving… we go when I _say_ we go. If you're going to travel with me, then you're going to _follow_ me. _I_ have the power, here. I m-"

"…you're torn, aren't you?" Taiyang said simply as he stabbed his trident into the ground and rested his foot atop the back of the head. He locked his deep blue eyes upon Raven's glowing ones and did his best to appear composed as his hair was tossed about in the high winds. "That's it, isn't it? You're having second thoughts about going to Vacuo."

The wind picked up momentarily as Raven narrowed her eyes. A branch snapped clean from a nearby tree as the twisting flares on the edges of Raven's eyes grew brighter. Taiyang pulled his trident up from the grass and braced himself for another attack. Raven took a deep breath in through her nose and then closed her eyes, only for the ghostly flames to disappear entirely as she shook her head.

"… _everything_ feels futile, right now," Raven said in a small voice. "For a while, I felt vindicated that no matter _what_ else I've done, we would have ended up at this point anyway. Salem would still be bearing down upon the world, and we'd still be unprepared. Now, though? Now I'm feeling like even if that's true, I've made _others_ unprepared for this, and once again, it ultimately won't matter what I do. The path I've taken opened the Vault in Mistral and put a relic in play. Nothing else I've done or will do will ever matter as much as that. That's my legacy, and no heroic final stand is going to have more impact."

"You don't know that," Taiyang insisted. "You don't know what we're capable of, _especially_ with your new abilities… and even more so if we start working with others again. You're too strong to just give up now."

"So, what? You think we _should_ head to Vacuo?" Raven asked as she opened her eyes.

"I think we need to consider _all_ potential options carefully," Taiyang offered as he began to approach. "Vacuo does make sense… but so does taking back Beacon. With you on our side, we could get it done, and make the Academy safe again. You said she doesn't have the relic there, yet. It's also closer, so we could work faster. That puts _three_ Academies on the board, instead of two."

"Beacon…" Raven repeated before sheathing her sword with a sigh. "I'd… rather not, but that _does_ make sense."

"…there's also still Yang," Taiyang reminded. "We could even just go talk to her and see what she suggests. Or… we could try something _really_ stupid. We could just put the relic right back in the Vault at Haven. It's the last place Salem would look, and she'd need you to open it again."

"That's…" Raven began, only to hesitate. "So stupid that it's almost worth considering…"

"Pretty sure that's what you told me when I first asked you out, too," Taiyang offered with a smirk before planting his hand upon Raven's shoulder. "But we need to decide, and _soon_. I don't see the harm in taking a few days, but any more than that, and we're taking an unnecessary risk. So… let's talk it out. Maybe even coordinate with the people defending Beacon, no matter what we decide? They could have insight that we don't."

Raven lifted her hand and rested it atop Taiyang's. Despite her original intention to brush the man's hand from her shoulder and head back to the house, she found herself hesitating before she gave his fingers a gentle squeeze.

"…alright. Let's figure this out."

* * *

Sun jerked awake as his scroll suddenly vibrated atop his stomach. The boy flailed ineffectually as he tried to prevent the brand-new device from hitting the floor, only to end up chasing it down to the carpet with his entire body and a heavy _thud_.

"…smooth," Jaune commented nonchalantly from his place on the perpendicular loveseat. "Wish I had the foresight to record that one."

"I'm nothing if not graceful," Sun replied as he rubbed at his nose and lifted his scroll from the floor. "I fell asleep?"

"Yeah. You passed out shortly after we got back from R&D," Jaune reminded. "I didn't want to wake you, given how stressful everything's been. You feeling alright?"

"…headache," Sun grumbled while he rubbed at his forehead with his palm and opened the message from Weiss.

"Still? That's probably not a good sign," Jaune offered as he stood up and headed for the bathroom.

 _Just a heads up- Robyn Hill, the woman from the docks who was arguing with Clover, wants to meet me down in Mantle tonight with "two of my own." If you're feeling up to it, I definitely think you should come along._

"Yeah, well… things are a little tense, right now," Sun explained as he turned to look toward the bathroom. "If I can just sleep in tomorrow, I should be alright."

"I hope so," Jaune replied as he walked back into the room with a paper cup in one hand and pills in the other. "You've done a lot for all of us, a-"

"We're _all_ doing a lot, man," Sun denied as he gratefully accepted the cup with his tail, much to Jaune's confusion. He lifted the cup to his mouth and took a quick sip before popping the pills with his free hand and replying to Weiss' text with the other.

 _I'll be there! Who do you want as our third? I can grab Yang and meet you in the lobby if you want._

Jaune blinked several times as he watched Sun, his expression one of awe.

" _Whoa_."

"…huh?" Sun asked as he turned his attention to his friend, his own face twisted with confusion.

"…you make it all look so _natural_ ," Jaune pointed out. "I don't think I'd survive having a tail. I'd probably end up strangling myself with it in my sleep, or something."

"…you don't give yourself enough credit, Jaune," Sun replied as he crushed the cup in his tail while watching Weiss make a third attempt at composing her reply. "And that's what I was trying to say, actually- _everyone_ here is pulling their weight, and doing great things for the team. I'm honestly starting to feel a little… frustrated, I guess, at all the praise I'm getting? I'm just making this all up as I go, same as you."

Jaune pulled a frown as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Sun, to be honest, I _really_ don't think this is a good time for modesty or pulling the 'everyone is special in their own little way' card. I think we're all pretty scared and tense right now, and your willingness to just push through it and check in on everyone is what's keeping us going. Ruby- the girl, not the team- hasn't exactly been… _inspiring_ , these last few months…"

Sun looked up from his scroll to see Jaune looking uncharacteristically serious, only for his attention to be pulled back down again as a reply finally came through.

 _…please keep this between us. I'm not sure how I feel about getting Yang involved with something that I think may become fairly significant, after seeing how she's been reacting to Penny. I think she's very close to snapping, and if such a thing needs to happen in order for her to clear her head, I think it would be better in a controlled environment. Maybe I'm being unfair, but I think there's more going on here than any of us know, and Yang isn't going to take to it well. She was making a lot of real progress, but a combination of reuniting with Blake and seeing her mother on Salem's side seems to have started a backward slide. I'm nervous, Sun._

"…Sun?" Jaune tried for the second time, only for the faunus to snap his attention upward to the other boy. "You're looking… _really_ pale."

"…yeah, sorry. I…" Sun paused and brought his eyes back down to Weiss' words once again. "I had no idea that things were that bad in RWBY…"

"…'in' Ruby?" Jaune asked as he raised a brow. "You mean, like her mental health? From traveling with her on the road to Mistral, I can tell you that _something's_ definitely bothering her. If you hadn't stepped up when you did and Ruby had to make decisions for us, I don't know what would've happened… but I don't think it would've been good."

Sun ground his teeth together as he mulled over the notion, before tapping out a reply to Weiss.

"Well, she's got Ren, who seems pretty stable to me, and Sage, who makes a good wall to talk to before coming back with surprisingly insightful advice. So… hopefully that all pans out."

 _Maybe just the two of us should go for this initial meeting? It sounds like we should talk in private. I'm worried, too, but if I'm being honest, I think I can rely on you the most out of anyone here to keep calm and help out. I love Ilia like a sister, but she's having trouble right now. I'm really still getting a feel for Jaune and Yang after being apart for so long._

"I hope you're right," Jaune said with a sigh as he deposited himself back onto the small couch. "Is something wrong? You look like you got bad news."

 _Sticking to the two of us right now might be a good idea. Meet me in the lobby._

"Weiss wants to talk," Sun said quickly as he snapped his scroll shut and stuffed it into his back pocket. "Can I ask a favor?"

"Of course," Jaune replied with a nod.

"Can you talk to Yang and Ilia, and come up with a time the five of us can meet tomorrow? Maybe we should do lunch or something. I want to talk to you guys about a few things and get ahead of any personal problems we might have going on before we get out into the field," Sun explained.

"Sure thing," Jaune confirmed as he stood up once again. "Mine will be pretty easy. I'm worried about the relic and keeping up with the Ace Ops. That's about it."

Sun offered a small smile and began to walk toward the door with Jaune in tow, before using his tail to toss his crushed cup into the trashcan outside of the kitchenette.

"…you've come a long way, even just in the past few weeks."

"Maybe. I'm… probably going to need your help with something soon, though," Jaune confessed. " _Just_ you. I don't know, yet. It'll depend on how things go, from here."

"Oh… kay…?" Sun asked as he stepped out into the hall. "Uh, sure, I guess?"

"…don't worry about it," Jaune replied as he scratched at the back of his head and shrugged. "It's nothing big. See you soon."

"…yeah," Sun agreed. "See you soon."

The faunus paused and watched his friend walk in the direction of the girls' penthouse, before turning to make his way toward the central lobby.

"…huh…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Should be another chapter this week, covering Sun and Weiss' meeting with Robyn. Not too long before we get to the weapon upgrades… _and training arc_.

 **-RD**


	90. A Toe in the Water

A soft groan escaped Sun's lips as he raised his arms into an overhead stretch. He sat in the spacious lobby of Atlas Academy, upon one of the leather couches pushed up against one of the tall, white-painted curved walls. Just as he lowered his arms back down to rest his hands in his lap, one of the sliding doors upon the wall opposite of Sun's couch opened with a soft _whirr_. Sun stood up immediately upon seeing both Weiss and Marrow emerge from the portal together, his expression a wide smile.

"Hey!" the faunus called as he jogged his way across the massive room. "How's the shoulder?"

Weiss lifted and rotated her arm, which was wrapped within a flexible brace over the sleeve of her dress shirt. The brace itself connected to a velcro-strapped wraparound component that circled her upper chest and seemed to provide her with a full range of motion.

"It aches, but it's much better than before," Weiss informed as she raised her other arm and pulled Sun into a tight squeeze, which the boy returned. "…still can't wear a shirt properly, can you?"

"Nope," Sun answered with a grin as he stepped away from the embrace. His Atlas Academy dress shirt was unbuttoned, and his sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, giving what would otherwise be formal attire a rather unsophisticated look.

"…good. It's really just a part of you, at this point," Weiss replied with a smile as Marrow stepped forward and offered the other faunus a hand.

"Sun," he said simply as he closed his fingers around the boy's palm. "You look a bit better, today. How's the penthouse?"

"It's… _huge_ ," Sun answered as he shook Marrow's hand. "I'm honestly not used to having such a giant living space, but it's nice. The ability to actually get some sleep for the first time in what feels like weeks helped a lot, too."

"I can imagine. If either of you need anything at all, you should have my scroll info, now," Marrow reminded as he clasped his hands behind himself. "I'm always willing to help, day or night. Just give me a call."

"Thank you, Marrow," Weiss replied with a warm smile. "I'm sure I'll call on you again soon, and we need to meet up to… reorganize, as it is."

Marrow had the grace to offer Weiss a nervous smile before giving Sun a small bow and a two-fingered salute.

"Yeah. See you soon!"

Sun watched as the older faunus made his way toward the elevators, his grey and white tail wagging feverishly all the while.

"…reorganize?" Sun questioned as he turned his attention down to Weiss.

"He's the team medic, so Elm brought me to him so he could check out my shoulder after she ran into me in the hallway," Weiss explained. "His room makes the old SSSN dorm look like a museum in terms of organization, so I offered to lend him a hand with tidying things."

"Ouch," Sun said as they turned and made their way out of the front door and toward the airfield. "I can't even fight back on that one. He does seem cool, though."

"He's an absolute sweetheart," Weiss added. "A part of me wanted to bring _him_ as our 'third' while talking to Miss Hill, but… I think it's a better idea to establish goodwill with her first and drop that particular bombshell later. She clearly dislikes Clover, and I don't want to upset her by bringing an Ace to what's supposed to be a private conversation."

"Yeah, that's probably the smart way to do this," Sun agreed as they walked up to a terminal and keyed in a flight down to Mantle. "Maybe next time, though, if this goes well. I trust your judgement, Weiss. If you think Marrow's a good in-between, then we'll bring him in to keep the lines of communication open and honest between all parties."

"Honest, yes. Open… I'm struggling to determine what we should and shouldn't say, and to whom," Weiss admitted. "And that includes Yang, Ilia, and Jaune."

Sun took a deep inhale, the crisp Atlesian air stinging his lungs with its cold, refreshing quality.

"…Weiss, I… I'm torn, too. I'm 100% with you on that, but I also do _not_ want to turn this into 'us versus them' within our own team, or act like we're better than them. Let me work on Ilia, and you can provide support here and there."

"And I'll actively work at cooling Yang off, while you tag in as needed," Weiss offered.

"What's your concern about Jaune?" Sun asked. "He actually seems to be handling this pretty well. Better than I expected, even, given the circumstances."

"He is," Weiss acknowledged. "Very much so, I might add. But… Jaune has the tendency to let his emotions get the better of him, in moments of high stress. At the attack on Haven, he… tried to take on Cinder in a one-on-one duel after she made a comment about Pyrrha. As much as I like him as a person, _none_ of us could succeed at that, let alone _him_. I don't want to sound like a bitch, but you know I'm right."

"…I didn't think you knew the word 'bitch'," Sun teased, only for Weiss to roll her eyes and cross her arms.

"…I'm quite not the innocent flower that you might assume, Sun. Besides- if I _hadn't_ known the word before Beacon, after spending nearly a year in a dorm with Yang, I certainly learned it."

"…fair point," Sun admitted. "And… yeah, you're right. Jaune's gonna need to step it up in training, but we'll be here to help him out. Knowing that four of us are prone to giving in to anger when a fight gets rough, though… that's not great. That's something we need to work on as a group."

"…Ilia, too?" Weiss asked with a worried look.

"Yeah," Sun confirmed. " _Oh_ yeah, Ilia, too. We're all gonna have a little sit-down at some point tomorrow, and just try to get all of our issues out in the open so we can help each other. Jaune's setting up a time with the others right now."

"That's honestly a great idea," Weiss praised as a set of headlights came into view over the edge of the guardrail at the end of the lot. "There are a lot of things currently left unsaid that I think need to be stated bluntly."

Sun sucked in a tense breath as his tail writhed nervously behind him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so, too…" Sun offered as they made their way to the waiting hovercar. "But for now, let's play our cards carefully, and get as much info as we can out of this."

* * *

"Lunch is cool," Yang answered with a wave of her robotic hand as she kept her other arm wrapped around Ilia's waist. "Not like we have anywhere else to be, anyway."

"And it _does_ sound like a good idea," Ilia followed up from her position laying atop Yang's stomach, with her head resting just below the other girl's cleavage. "I'm still not feeling great about this whole 'working for Ironwood' thing, even if Winter had some good points…"

Jaune finally worked up the courage to look at the reclining girls on the couch opposite his own. He watched as Ilia passed the bowl of popcorn resting upon her stomach up to Yang, who took a few pieces and popped them into her mouth before offering one down to Ilia. The faunus made a show of carefully extracting the food from Yang's fingers with her teeth, before running her tongue along the blonde's thumb. Jaune blushed hard and cleared his throat as he watched the display, only for the girls to ignore him.

"Should I… leave you two alone? Are you…?" Jaune paused, gradually trailing off into silence.

"…are we…?" Yang asked while tilting her head as innocently as possible.

"I…" Jaune hesitated and coughed into his hand. "You two have been… _really_ physical since I got here. Are you… you know, _a thing?_ It's cool if you are! I just… I'm not sure what to think right now?"

Ilia craned her head backwards and looked up at Yang, who returned her gaze. The two women kept up the affectionate eye contact for a good while before Ilia finally broke into a suppressed snort, and Yang pushed her forehead down with a finger while rolling her eyes.

"…nah. We're just messing with ya," Yang answered with a smirk. "Though we _do_ share a bed. Who knows what might happen during these cold Atlesian nights?"

Ilia sat up into a stretch and handed the bowl of popcorn to Yang.

"We decided it would be funny to screw with whoever came in. I was honestly hoping for Sun or Weiss, but you made a good mark, too. It's pretty simple, really- Yang's warm, I'm part lizard, and it's honestly just kinda nice to have a cuddle-buddy with everything that's going on," the faunus elaborated. "Maybe you should try it with Sun. You never know."

"Sun has a girlfriend," Jaune said quickly, his flustered state only intensifying.

"…that's your only point of contention?" Yang asked with a devilish grin.

" _No!_ " Jaune answered quickly. "And I d-"

A harsh buzzing sound rang throughout the room, causing the trio to jump and eye the door suspiciously.

"…got it," Yang offered as she handed the bowl of popcorn back to Ilia and pushed herself up and off the couch. The blonde took long strides toward the door before considering the intercom, and instead just opting to slide the door open. "… _oh_. Uh… hi?"

Jaune craned his neck as he leaned forward, trying to see around Yang's body while a harsh, unfamiliar voice answered.

" _Hi_. Can I come in?"

"By all means," Yang answered as she stepped aside and made a welcoming motion with her arm.

Harriet Bree walked quickly into the room, clad in her skintight Ace Ops uniform of a deep blue and white form-fitting jumpsuit that stopped at her thighs. The woman had her weaponized harness upon her back despite the friendly environment, and her fuchsia eyes were equally threatening as she sized up Jaune, and then Ilia.

"Having a little party?" Harriet asked, her tone flat and seemingly disinterested.

"More like a meeting with popcorn, actually," Ilia replied as she arched a brow and held the bowl out in Harriet's direction. "Popcorn…?"

Harriet eyed the snack suspiciously, before turning her glare to Ilia.

" _No_."

"What, too good for popcorn?" Yang asked as she let the door slide shut and walked around Harriet to deposit herself back onto the couch. "I eat popcorn all the time, and I've still got abs. Live a little."

Harriet made a noise of irritation as she folded her arms across her chest and stuck a hip out to the side.

"…I'm good. I'm not here to eat your food or _hang out_. I came by to check up on whoever happened to be here. I got no response at the other doors."

"Oh, yeah," Jaune offered with a sheepish grin. "Sun and Weiss went out somewhere, and Sun's rooming with me. Weiss is usually here, with the girls. Sorry about that."

"They went out somewhere?" Harriet repeated as she searched Jaune's eyes for a moment, only for the boy to look away. "And you don't know where?"

Jaune looked up, only to find all three pairs of eyes in the room suddenly upon him.

"…no," Jaune admitted. "I… don't. None of us do. Sun was with me most of the day, and then he went to go meet her."

"They're adults. They can handle themselves," Ilia added to try to pull Harriet's attention from Jaune.

"Be that as it may," Harriet began, "four out of five of you are new to Atlas, Weiss is badly injured, and General Ironwood could call on you at any time. _We_ could call on you at any time as we're given orders to share information and help you train. You're supposed to be recovering from your trip here, and ready to go at a moment's notice if need be."

"We _are_ ready," Yang replied in a tense tone. "And if they need to be called back, we'll call them back. How do you know about Weiss' injuries?"

Harriet rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Marrow. We communicate all essential information on a consistent basis, because that's our _job_. It's yours, too."

"…how does _Marrow_ know about Weiss' injuries…?" Ilia asked before taking a handful of popcorn.

Harriet sighed, and shook her head.

"Because Marrow spent most of the afternoon treating her and then taking her down to the infirmary. The five of you are supposed to be a _team_. You're going to need to become an _elite_ team capable of riding with us, and that means constant communication, even when it isn't _fun_. This isn't school anymore. You should know these things when a teammate is out of commission," Harriet scolded.

" _Hey_ ," Yang cut in harshly as she leaned forward toward Harriet. "Generally, we _do_ know what's going on with our team, and we're usually all together. Sun and Weiss needed some time alone, so we gave them time alone. We're all close. We're all _friends_ , and she would've told us when she gets back tonight, anyway, so don't lord it over us like we're slacking off. Ironwood told us to take some time to recover, so we're taking time to recover, and doing what we need to do for ourselves. If you've got a problem with that, take it up with _him_."

Harriet's eyes blazed with fury as Yang finished speaking, and Jaune quickly waved a hand to try to catch her attention before she could retaliate.

"Miss Bree? I… Yang's just trying to say that we have our own way of doing things, and thus far, it's been working for us. We've all been through a _lot_ recently, and while we appreciate what your team is doing for Weiss, and what you'll be doing for us in the future… we need a little time to process everything that's going on in order to get ready to deal with all of this in our own way. I doubt that you were just ready to go and aware of everything that's standard among the Ace Ops the moment you signed on. We're all serious about this, and we'll learn as we go. But for now… please try to understand that we're trying, and we're not perfect. If things hadn't ended up the way they did, we _would_ still be at an Academy. This is all a little much."

Around halfway through Jaune's speech, Harriet had closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. As he finished speaking, she took a long, deep breath, and shook her head before letting her hand drop to her side.

"…okay. You're right."

Ilia blinked and looked back and forth between Jaune and Harriet with a stunned expression.

"…he is? I mean, he _is_ , but _you_ think he is?"

"I _know_ he is," Harriet answered before giving Ilia an apologetic look. "And I'm sorry. I overstepped."

The room went silent for an awkward length of time as the teens all looked at each other, until Ilia hesitantly held out her bowl once again.

"…uh… popcorn…?"

"… _still_ no," Harriet denied with a wave of her hand. "Look- being able to admit when you're wrong is part of being an adult, and I guess I've forgotten that not all teams work like we do. If… _this,_ " Harriet emphasized as she made a broad gesture between the two couches, "is how you guys 'meet' and share information, and that works for you… then fine. But don't expect the Aces to join in, and don't expect to always have the luxury of just lounging around and talking out your _feelings_. Academy-age or not, the General, Winter, and the Aces _will_ expect results from you, and if we don't get them, you _will_ be cut loose."

"Understood," Yang replied with a nod. "And we'll get you the results you ask for. That being said… the four of you guys aren't friends? You don't 'do this' like we do?"

Harriet once again sighed and folded her arms, her posture stiff and defensive.

" _No_. We're a team, we're in constant communication, and we have bonds of trust that run deeper than blood, but we don't… 'hang out', or anything," Harriet finished.

"That sounds… hard," Jaune said hesitantly. "Hard, and… kinda unpleasant? Wouldn't it be easier to become friendly with people you work with all the time?"

"If you want me to refrain from judging the way _you_ five do things, then I'm going to ask that you do the same with _us_ , and we'll call it even," Harriet offered. "Call on us when you need us for training, advice, or whatever else that's related to our overall mission, but don't expect anything more. That's all."

"And that's fair," Yang replied. "But if you ever _do_ want to come and hang out with us, I'm sure any of the five of us would be more than willing. Even if you don't want to be 'friends', I think we can both agree that it's better if we're on friendly terms, at the very least."

Harriet stared Yang down for a moment, and neither woman dared to blink.

"…friendly terms are fine, but don't expect me to join in on pillow fights and movie nights. If you three don't need anything, then I've got paperwork to do. Pleasant evening," the woman offered with a backward wave as she turned and made her way toward the door.

The trio of friends watched as Harriet disappeared through the sliding door, and they remained silent until her footfalls in the hallway gradually faded to nothingness.

"…so. _She_ fucking hates us," Ilia said definitively. "And I'd light my cooch on fire before going to Clover for _any_ sort of advice or training."

"You and me both," Yang agreed with a sigh. "But… I don't think she _hates_ us. I think she's… complicated. I'll chip away at her."

"Be careful," Jaune warned. "I trust you to know when to back off, but that's a dangerous game you're playing. I will admit, she does seem more receptive to you than the two of us, at least."

"Maybe, but she _did_ listen to you, too," Ilia pointed out. "I don't know what to make of any of them just yet, but I'll hold my tongue until they give me reason not to."

"That's probably a good idea," Jaune offered as he stood from the couch. "On that note, I think _I'm_ going to go and take a nap. I've been a little jealous of Sun ever since he fell asleep on the couch earlier, and it seems like a better idea now more than ever."

"Sweet dreams," Ilia mocked as she took the last handful of popcorn. "Yang and I are gonna go shower together, and make sure we get _all_ of our hard to reach places. Maybe you can dream about _that_."

Jaune merely rolled his eyes and headed for the door as he heard Yang break out into laughter.

" _Right_. See you two tomorrow!"

As the boy disappeared into the hallway, Ilia swallowed her popcorn and cracked her neck.

"…seriously, though, I _am_ gonna go shower. You want in on this?"

Yang raised a brow and remained on the couch with her arms folded.

"I thought we were just friends?"

"…friends can shower together," Ilia tried while putting on an innocent look.

"Pff," Yang offered with a smirk. "Nah, I'm good, but don't take that as a permanent 'no' or anything. I'm not exactly 'looking' right now, but you weren't wrong, either- it _is_ nice to have someone to cuddle. We'll see what happens as the weeks go on."

"Oh, I'm not 'looking' either," Ilia insisted as she began to unbutton her dress shirt while walking toward the bathroom. "But that just makes it more fun. Give it some thought."

Yang watched over the back of the couch as the faunus closed the bathroom door.

"…maybe it does…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Obviously, Robyn got pushed to the next chapter. More soon!

 **-RD**


	91. Eyes on the Inside

The tip of Sun's tail bounced rhythmically against the floor of the air taxi as he watched the buildings of Mantle rise up all around him through the windows. The dark brick structures stood in stark contrast to the bright, sterile, and futuristic aesthetic of the buildings all around the floating island of Atlas. Gaudy neon signs advertising all sorts of things were commonplace among the upper reaches of Mantle, and the flickering, unnatural lights leant odd colors to Weiss' snow-white hair as Sun watched them through the window behind her.

"Well… looks like we're here," the faunus said as he began to stretch in his seat. The subtle jerk of the aircraft hitting the ground caused him to momentarily lose his balance as he stood, and Weiss put a steadying hand upon his shoulder.

"Careful," the former heiress warned before rising herself. "I take it you don't travel by air, much?"

"Not until very recently," Sun confirmed. The sudden appearance of twin jets of narrow green flame caught his attention through the window, followed by a smattering of green LEDs that moved quickly past their aircraft. "Uh… we may be in trouble…"

"What?" Weiss asked, looking alarmed. "What do you mean?"

"I might be wrong, but I think we were followed," Sun warned as the hatch at the back of the taxi opened. He lowered his voice and leaned in to whisper in Weiss' ear as they walked toward the extending ramp. "Just play it cool and be careful what information we let slip. I've got a bad feeling about this."

Weiss nodded slowly and followed Sun out onto the pavement of the landing zone, only for her eyes to widen as she caught sight of a familiar figure.

"… _Hope?_ "

" _Sal-u-tations!_ " the android intoned as she offered the pair before her a crisp salute. The wide smile that Weiss had previously associated with the greeting was entirely absent, and something about the rigidity of the android's gestures sent a shiver down the girl's spine.

"…hey there," Sun offered with a small wave. "Can we help you?"

Hope tilted her head and blinked. Sun found himself wondering if the gesture was necessary at all, or just for show.

"Help me? No, though I thank you for the consideration! I spotted the pair of you while in mid-flight, and I came to offer you my assistance!" Hope explained. Her face widened into a jerky smile that caused Sun to take a step back, while Weiss took hold of his hand and gave him a tight squeeze. "I came to inquire as to whether or not you needed guidance while exploring Mantle, as well as to ascertain the reason for your visit. Are you conducting an outing to gather information about the area? If so, my presence could be _incredibly_ valuable!"

An awkward pause occurred before Weiss took a step closer to Sun and looked up at the boy. Without warning, she rested her head into the faunus' arm and brought their linked hands up into Hope's line of sight while interlocking fingers with Sun.

"Actually… Sun and I are out on a date," Weiss said carefully. "We were hoping to get away from the academy and our overall mission here for a night to have a little time alone…"

Hope blinked again, and her eyes widened. She stooped into a clumsy bow and rose back to her unusually motionless stance immediately afterward.

" _Oh!_ My sincerest apologies, Miss Schnee! I was unaware that you and Mr. Wukong were paired. I'll 'get out of your hair', as they say. Though… I _do_ have access to all public reviews of nearby restaurants in Mantle, if you would like suggestions. I can also run a search for movies that have been voted to be above publicly decided thresholds of quality according to your chosen criteria. Will you be staying the night in Mantle? I can assist you with finding a hotel suited for romantic escapades. Some even have rotating beds!"

"Uh… no, no, that's alright," Sun reassured as he held his free hand up and gently looped his tail around Weiss' waist. "We've already got some places picked out for tonight. Thanks for the offer, though!"

"You are most welcome," Hope replied as she engaged the thrusters beneath her large metallic boots once again and began to float a few feet off the ground. "Enjoy your evening, and please, contact me if you require any assistance with your pursuits of romance, or otherwise! You have my contact information, after all!"

"Will do," Sun offered with a nod as he watched Hope ascend at high speed. The emerald jets beneath the android's feet flared as she began to rocket forward, soaring over the streets of Mantle to an unknown destination.

Weiss slowly unlinked her fingers from Sun's as the faunus let his tail slip from her waist. The pair exchanged a nervous glance, and Weiss folded her arms across her chest as she watched Hope make a sharp turn in midair and disappear from view.

"…we _do_ have her contact information… and with our new scrolls, _she_ has _ours.._."

"…I don't think she saw us in the air," Sun said slowly. "And I'm not convinced that her offer to be a third wheel had anything to do with helping us have a night on the town…"

"All the more reason to find Robyn quickly, and be cautious while we do it," Weiss replied as she began to walk with Sun in tow. "You know, Ilia suggested to Yang and I that we keep our old scrolls, and use the ones that Ironwood gifted to us for business calls only. I laughed off the suggestion at the time, but…"

"…yeah," Sun acknowledged as he kept pace with Weiss. "Yeah, she may be on to something. I don't think the general has it in for us or anything, but if stuff like _that_ keeps happening… our leash might be tighter than we think."

"In Atlas? That's a given, Sun," Weiss said with a bitter sigh as they passed a massive billboard featuring her father's face and the slogan _VOTE SCHNEE_ beneath it. She pulled a disgusted face and turned her eyes down to the sidewalk, where the stone was stained in odd patches and perpetually wet. " _Everyone_ in a position of power here wants to protect it, and most want to extend their reach. We need to be careful, no matter what titles, praise, and privilege we're given."

"I've never really been good at playing politics," Sun admitted as the pair made their way down a well-lit street. "Can I… defer to you for that kind of thing? That all seems like something you'd be familiar with. No offense."

"None taken," Weiss reassured. "And of _course_ you can. I'll do what I can to keep us protected on that front. Atlas is a den of snakes. I'm not entirely convinced that Mantle is any different, yet."

"Yeah… but hopefully, we're about to meet with a charmer. I'll be relying on you a lot tonight," Sun admitted as they rounded a corner, only to slow their pace.

A pair of faunus wearing winter gear stood warming their hands in front of a bright orange heating coil built into the side of a nearby storefront. As Weiss and Sun came into view, the two citizens looked over the former heiress before locking eyes with Sun and offering him a hateful glare.

"…something wrong?" Sun asked as he and Weiss moved to pass the couple on the sidewalk.

"Yeah. _Lots_ of things are wrong in Mantle," the female deer-horned woman closest to Sun answered as she turned her attention to Weiss. "Keep walking."

" _Don't engage them_ ," Weiss whispered as she pressed closer to Sun's side. " _Please_."

Sun merely offered the couple a frown as he passed, only to turn it into a sigh.

" _Race traitor_ ," the male with patches of fur upon his forearms accused, causing Sun to suddenly stop and look over his shoulder. "If you weren't with that bitch, we could solve _one_ of our problems right now."

"Sun," Weiss warned as she gripped the faunus' wrist. " _Walk away_. They aren't worth it, and we have places to be. Some things are more important than defending me from them."

"Not that you _can_ defend that frigid cunt," the horned woman added before spitting a glob of phlegm at Weiss' feet. The projectile barely missed one of her shoes, and she quickly took a step away from the couple. "She blackmailing you to stay quiet? Or are you just so fucking stupid that you think she's an ally of the faunus?"

Sun inhaled sharply as his tail flicked back and forth along the cold stone of the sidewalk, while Weiss sucked in a breath and looked away, her face bright red and full of anguish. She tugged once again on Sun's arm, only for the male to stay still as he sucked in an angry breath.

"We _can't_ cause a problem, Sun. Let it go…"

"What'd she offer you? A job licking her heels clean? Or maybe you're the guy who gets to hit the button to turn off the heat every few minutes to save a few lien while pretending there's a service outage," the woman's partner accused. "Not making enough money as it is, Schnee? Need another new dress? When word got out that you were missing, we were all hoping you'd gotten killed at Beacon. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you get killed here, if you keep walking _our_ streets. Daddy isn't here to protect you."

"…come on. Let's go," Sun hissed through barred teeth as he tore his eyes off the couple.

Sun and Weiss continued walking the streets of Mantle without a word, the former fuming and the latter keeping her eyes on the sidewalk and trying to block out the barrage of voices and looming banners of her father's face that chased them the entire way to the restaurant.

* * *

"…next time, can we invite Robyn _up_ to Atlas, instead of coming down here?" Sun spat as he and Weiss entered the lobby of the large Mistral-styled restaurant. The walls were painted black and featured gold leaf designs of dragon and lotus imagery, with traditional-looking painted scrolls of various Mistrali fauna interspersed between paper doors leading to private dining rooms.

"…yes. Please," Weiss replied in a small voice as she snapped her scroll shut, looking to be on the edge of tears. "And thank you for holding back, even when they started going after you, too. I'm not sure how much more _I_ can take before I snap. I wasn't expecting a _friendly_ reception, but…"

Sun cut Weiss off by scooping her into a tight hug, which the girl returned immediately. "Don't make excuses for them. They don't know you, and judging the two of us without having any idea what the hell they're talking about makes _them_ awful people, not you. It should be over now, at least."

"I know," Weiss admitted as she broke free of the embrace. "But… still. We'll be working in Mantle, occasionally. It's not going to be easy breaking through to these people while trying to work for their benefit. This sort of treatment is going to be constant, and even _more_ targeted at you…"

" _Nothing_ about this will be easy," Sun reminded as he approached the attendant waiting behind the podium at the end of the lobby. "We're looking for Robyn Hill? She probably has us down under Weiss' name?"

The maître'd, a middle-aged faunus man with thick glasses and tabby cat ears, turned his nose up at Sun as Weiss hesitantly moved to stand at his side.

"…Robyn Hill is meeting with a _Schnee_ and her pet, now? I'm sure th-"

"If you _dare_ to finish that sentence," Weiss began as she balled a fist, "I will personally see to it that this place goes _under_. We've both had enough baseless venom for one night, and we're here to work _against_ my father. Sun is my _friend_ , and I'm not going to listen to more of this tonight. We've been harassed the entire way here, and I've had _enough_."

The older faunus merely pushed his glasses up his nose, thoroughly unimpressed by Weiss' outburst and Sun's refusal to look at him.

" _Right_. I'll check in with Miss Hill, bef-"

"No need," came a harsh feminine voice from the entranceway behind the podium. Robyn Hill made her way forward through the hall, glaring daggers at the attendant as he turned to face her. "I came to escort them back to our room, but now I'm here to tear you a new asshole. How _dare_ you claim to be one of my supporters, when you act like this to my _guests?_ "

The man bristled as Robyn began to bear down on him, and Sun stepped forward between the two.

"Robyn, it's… let's not make a scene. Please? It's already been a rough afternoon, and we're both exhausted."

Robyn eyed up the cat-eared faunus before turning her attention to Sun and letting out a sharp exhale through her nose.

"… _fine_ ," she offered before turning her attention back to the shaken attendant. "But this isn't over. I'll be speaking to management about this, and you'll be _lucky_ if you see me and my crew back in here next week. This way," Robyn instructed to Sun and Weiss before turning and waving them along through the hall.

"…thank you for defending us," Weiss offered as the trio made their way deeper into the restaurant. "Had I texted you sooner, there likely wouldn't have been an issue."

"Not a problem," Robyn reassured as she looked back at Weiss. "Honestly, I should've anticipated this. I take it the streets weren't too friendly to you?"

"Not at all," Sun confirmed. "More so to Weiss, but they came after me, too, just for being with her. Is it _always_ like that down here?"

"Among certain circles," Robyn grumbled. "The majority are actually pretty nice and outgoing, but… tensions are high right now with the upcoming election, and this district is both largely mine, and comprised of faunus. They're not going to stand for a Schnee on their turf… at least, not yet."

"…and if I make it publicly known that I'm on your side?" Weiss asked as Robyn slid back a paper door, revealing two other women sitting in black wooden chairs at a large, matching circular table.

"… _then_ we'll start to see a change," Robyn replied with a smile as she gestured toward the table. "Just the two of you?"

"Our third couldn't make it," Sun lied as he approached one of the two women who rose to meet him. "Everyone's busy with physicals or paperwork right now, so we came alone."

A short, sheep-eared faunus with fluffy white hair took Sun's hand in both of her own and shook it.

"Fiona," the woman offered with a warm smile. "I remember you from the docks. You've got some moves."

Sun's chest ached as he offered the woman an awkward smile and scratched at the side of his neck. He fought back the sensation of intense longing as he tried unsuccessfully to shove off the weight of memory. All the same, he paused as he noticed a tea kettle in the center of the table, and he couldn't help but smile awkwardly to himself as he failed to notice the other hand outstretched toward him for several seconds.

"Uh, yeah, thanks! Um… and you are?" the faunus boy asked as he took the waiting hand of the serious-looking blue-haired woman with piercing yellow eyes that stood looking at him with a raised brow.

"May," the woman said simply as she shook Sun's hand.

Weiss finished her introduction to Fiona just as May pulled her hand back from Sun's, and then repeated her own greeting with the second woman.

"Well," Robyn began as she sank into her seat between Fiona and May, "we've got a lot to talk about, but I'm sure you both have a lot of questions about Mantle and the election, first. Let's hear 'em."

Sun pulled out a chair for Weiss before setting the spare one from their side of the table up against a nearby wall. Weiss sat lightly and offered Sun a thankful smile as she watched him sit down beside her, before turning her attention across the table to Robyn.

"Actually… before anything else… what can you tell us about Hope Polendina?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hey look, the actual conversation got pushed back a chapter. Who could have possibly seen this coming? Next time will cover the meeting with Robyn proper, and then it's time for Ruby's crew to start in on actually being relevant. I also now have a roadmap of just about everything that's going to occur in Volume 7 of this story. We're looking at between Chapter 140 and 150 before the end…

…so basically this will probably stretch to Chapter 200, then Volume 8 will come out immediately, and I'll cry.

 **-RD**


	92. Two Lies and a Truth

Fiona was the first to speak, her brows knitted in seemingly deep thought as she wrung her hands beneath the table.

"Hope Polendina is… well… the designated 'Protector of Mantle', designed by Dr. Pietro Polendina. He's a brilliant machinist who has been contracted by Atlesian authorities several times in the past, but recently… Ironwood has more or less taken up all of his time with classified projects. Hope was one of them, until she was revealed to the public a few months ago and given the job of patrolling and protecting the lower city," the sheep faunus explained. "People are… _mixed_ in their reception of her, to say the least."

"The doctor has always been in Ironwood's pocket, but never this deeply," May added as she folded her arms and offered Weiss an unreadable look. "He used to do public works projects and hold public seminars fairly often. That stopped after the Fall of Beacon."

"Because of Penny," Sun stated flatly. "I'm assuming you all saw the Vytal Tournament. I mean… Hope _is_ just Penny rebuilt, right…?"

May offered Robyn a neutral glance, which the platinum blonde returned before heaving a sigh and shaking her head.

"…we don't know. Dr. Polendina was always a fan of walking the public through the hows and whys behind his science. Hope just _appeared_ one day, and we're all just assuming she's 'Penny 2.0' at the moment. What that means beyond the fact that Hope is a natural evolution in the design process, no one knows. Few people seem to care, for that matter…"

"Yet you do," Weiss pointed out. "Why?"

"Simple," May jumped in. "Ironwood's involved, and it's just another on a laundry list of secrets that are starting to lose him public trust."

"Secrets that shouldn't _be_ secrets," Fiona emphasized as three uniformed wait staff entered the private room and began depositing platters of food onto the large table. "The fact that nothing was said beyond 'here she is' implies that something sinister is going on. There's a _lot_ that's been unexplained lately, and Robyn is fighting for the council seat so that it _will_ be explained to the public. A lot of people aren't willing to trust a weapon that they barely understand, especially when Mantle has so many holes in its defenses."

"So Hope's situation is emblematic of a larger problem," Weiss offered. "You mentioned that Ironwood has been losing favor, back at the docks. I take it these 'secrets' you're referring to have a lot to do with that?"

"They have _everything_ to do with it," Robyn agreed as a large, rotating wooden platter stuffed with fried foods and dumplings was deposited between her and Weiss. "Jobs are disappearing. _People_ are disappearing. Dust and funding to Mantle are getting blanket cuts, and winter is approaching fast. Holes in the perimeter of the city are going unpatched, and grimm are starting to use them to enter. Grimm shouldn't even _be_ here. It was thought that outside of the ones in the deep ocean, they couldn't survive the cold of Solitas. Terrestrial grimm are new to us, and Ironwood's total silence on the matter isn't earning him any good will. It's like the grimm have _evolved_ , and it's happening quickly. Worryingly quickly…"

Sun and Weiss exchanged a nervous glance that didn't go unnoticed across the table.

"…you two know something," May insisted as she narrowed her eyes. "What is it?"

Sun gritted his teeth as he turned to look at the woman, his tail flicking furiously beneath the table.

"May," Robyn warned as she put up a hand and gave her subordinate a cold glare of warning. "Back off. We have time, and we're on neutral ground right now. There's no reason to sour that with demands right out the gate."

"…neutral ground?" Weiss questioned as she delicately plucked a fried shrimp from atop the pile on the central platter and moved it to her own, smaller plate. "I thought this meeting was on friendly terms?"

"You _are_ working for Ironwood, aren't you?" Robyn asked as she began to load her own plate while turning her eyes to Sun. "You mentioned that the others were getting physicals or doing paperwork, and the Aces themselves escorted you up to Atlas. That tells me that you're important, beyond just having a Schnee with you. Who _are_ the five of you?"

Weiss hesitated, her shrimp halfway between her plate and her mouth as she met Robyn's probing stare with total silence.

"…we're… displaced," Sun began, his eyes down on his empty plate. "We're students, from Beacon Academy. We were huntsmen and huntresses in training that didn't run when Ironwood told us to, during the fall. We stood our ground against the grimm, and we lost people. Some to grimm, some to separation and confusion during the attack… and we've just been drifting, ever since. We were all first years when it happened, but we're fighters, and we've been clinging to each other just to survive. Somehow, we made it out of there… and eventually made our way here. We pleaded our case to the Aces, because we have nowhere else to go, anymore. They brought us to Ironwood, and he's giving us a place to stay at Atlas Academy. The only thing we _know_ is that we're finally somewhere safe, and that he didn't forget about us. He took us in, even though we're not exactly 'his' students. We owe him… but we don't _know_ him, yet. So… I'm sorry, if you thought we could give you any inside information," the faunus finished as he looked up at Robyn, his eyes full of pained sincerity.

May's glare only seemed to harden, while Fiona raised a hand to cover her mouth and cast a sympathetic glance at Robyn. Robyn herself took a deep breath and sank farther back into her chair before shaking her head once again, her mouth pulled into a sullen frown.

"…then you two are still teens," she muttered to herself. "And none of you asked for any of this. You probably came here to _escape_ the grimm, and now, you're finding yourselves right in the middle of a hotspot. Not to mention a political battle."

"…that's right," Weiss agreed as she subtly rested a hand upon Sun's thigh beneath the table. "Even so, we'll fight. We'll fight alongside you and yours if you'll have us, and given the upcoming election, we'll fight against my father, as well as the grimm. But that's really about all we can do. We don't have any special insight as to what's going on in Mantle _or_ Atlas. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Robyn insisted as she started in on her food. "It was my mistake to assume something else. Even though you're not 'in the know' with Ironwood, you're both still part of our ecosystem here, and the fact that you were willing to take a trip down to Mantle to meet with me says a lot. Your willingness to defend the city says even more."

"It says that, unlike _most_ of the holier-than-thou crowd up in Atlas, you two might actually be worthy of being called 'hunters'," May added. "If Ironwood won't send you on assignment, then we will. And even if he does, we'll still have work for you, both with the grimm, and with the election."

"So long as it's in service to Mantle, we'll be happy to help where and when we can," Weiss reassured with a nod as she finally began to eat. "Doubly so if doing so hurts my father."

"You really seem to have it in for him," Robyn pointed out with a smirk. "He's been contributing to the problems in Mantle, all while playing the victim and shifting blame toward Ironwood where and when he can. Lots of people here have lost jobs because of a supposed 'dust shortage', and he claims that only by getting a seat on the council can he convince Ironwood to stop demanding so much for classified military operations."

"Is it a blanket shortage?" Sun asked as he finally took an eggroll for himself. "Like… all sorts of businesses are being affected?"

"So he says," Fiona confirmed. "Electrical dust in particular has been cracked down on, recently. According to Jacques, Ironwood is cutting into our supply to ramp up production of war machines. Ironwood hasn't confirmed or denied anything."

"What about gravity dust?" Weiss asked, growing tense.

"…gravity dust?" Robyn repeated as she tilted her head. "Nothing specific has been mentioned. Why do you ask?"

"It's extremely difficult to get a hold of, generally," Weiss explained. "When I was involved in the S.D.C., around 70% of it was imported from Lake Matsu, while the remaining supply was mined from deep within the core of Atlas itself. It just seems to me like it would be the hardest to come by."

"When you say you _were_ involved, you're implying that you're not, anymore?" May replied. "If that's true, then what happened? Why did he just leave you at Beacon?"

"…he didn't," Weiss admitted. "He actually brought me home, for a time… before cutting me off from the company and shifting the status of 'heir' to my little brother. I guess he kept a stranglehold on the media coming out of Atlas, if you don't know about that…"

"Yet you were traveling with Sun?" Robyn asked with a raised brow.

"…I left Atlas, and joined up with Sun's crew in Mistral," Weiss explained. "I'm the 'newest' addition to the party, actually, but… I'm here with his crew, now. _Not_ with my father."

"I see," Robyn said with a nod. "Well… at the moment, Mantle is torn almost down the middle between him and I. I could use any information you'd be willing to give me to get a leg up on Jacques Schnee."

Weiss smirked as she spun a collection of pan-fried noodles onto her fork and held the implement just in front of her mouth.

"Oh, I'll tell you _everything_ …"

* * *

Cinnamon kept her cheek mashed into her fist as she watched the skyline through the glass, her elbow planted firmly on the rubber sill of the window. The ground far below had immediately changed from rolling hills to jagged, cracked rock upon crossing the ocean, and there was a complete lack of wildlife in the area bar the occasional grimm meandering about.

"…so, let me guess," the woman said in an unimpressed tone as she looked at the reflection of her companion in the window. "We're headed for where the sky is a cartoonish dark purple, with red clouds beneath? That section of this island that just _screams_ 'evil lair'?"

Tyrian chuckled softly, his mechanical tail waving hypnotically in the space between him and Cinnamon.

" _Evil_ , you say? Why, I find ash clouds quite beautiful, in a unique sort of way. It's unlike anything I've seen out on the mainland. So are you, for that matter."

"If that's an attempt at seduction, then keep it in your pants," Cinnamon warned. "I'm not here for any reason other than to keep my people safe, and to see the downfall of the Black Claw. Keep that in mind… and keep your distance."

"After the humiliation you gave me at your little camp? I intend to, for now," Tyrian reassured. "I'm content to just watch you. Study you. Look for any little inconsistencies, _any_ attempt to go against the will of our goddess. In fact, I'm somewhat _hoping_ that your intentions are less than pure. I'm itching for a chance at redemption."

"Then we'll spar, once we get to the citadel," Cinnamon replied with a shrug. "I'm sure Salem is going to want to see me in action as it is. I can knock you on your ass again."

Tyrian let out a mirthful snort, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous shimmer in the glass.

"So confident. Tell me- if you're so much more capable than Adam was, why did you _ever_ submit to him? Even if you're a bit… _callous_ , I'll admit that you've already done more than him, just by agreeing to meet with Salem. All _he_ did was complicate our plans at Haven and complain."

"Because I know how to play the long con, in order to get what I want," Cinnamon answered as she finally turned to face Tyrian. "It's no different than what _you're_ doing, is it? Surely, you're in this to see Salem on top, and secure a position for yourself in her 'new world', as you put it. I'm doing the same for the faunus, just as I was when Adam was in charge. I knew it was only a matter of time before he got himself killed, and letting it happen organically made it easier to swoop in and claim the Fang as my own than a violent takeover would have been."

"And yet you're content to simply serve, now?" Tyrian questioned. "Where has all of your fighting spirit gone? Aren't you the least bit tempted to try to seize power once again?"

"…it sounds almost like you _want_ that to be the truth," Cinnamon pointed out. "Keep your zealous commitment to Salem in check, Tyrian. I'm well aware that if what you told me back at the campground is true, then Salem is going to win this little shadow war, and I've got no chance in resisting her. Again- I'm in this for my people. If serving her keeps them safe, and I have no option otherwise… then that's what I'll do."

"Smart. Pragmatic," Tyrian praised. "And _boring_. You're right, honestly- I was hoping there would be a little struggle, a little shame, a tiny spark of _resistance_ from you as you wriggled against your chains. We've already got two within our number whose hearts just aren't in it anymore, but I'm not allowed to play with them. I can _smell_ their hesitance to continue along this path, but Salem insists upon protecting them, regardless. I've told her that they're untrustworthy, but still, she won't even acknowledge the danger that one of them poses, should she defect. Maybe now, with _you_ here, we'll be allowed to dispose of them."

Cinnamon rubbed gently at her chin, hiding a smirk.

"…not all is well in your neck of the woods, and you're actually _worried_ about one of your own?" Cinnamon asked.

"Not worried- _eager_ ," Tyrian countered. "I _want_ her to make a move, and try to run. Chasing her down would be _so_ satisfying…"

"Hm," Cinnamon mused as she turned her attention to the window once again. "Is that so…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Next time- Ruby's big arc gets rolling.

 **-RD**


	93. Just One Thing

Ruby blinked awake in the semidarkness of her hotel room. With a long, drawn-out stretch and accompanying yawn, she squirmed and shuffled against the heavy comforter before closing her eyes once again.

"…none of that, now," Nora chided as she hurled a pillow across the room.

The implement hit the back of Ruby's head with a muffled _thump_ , and the small girl promptly pulled it down over her ears to try to block out the sound of Nora's footsteps on the carpet.

"…five more m-"

A second pillow slammed into her butt with far greater force, and Ruby let out a yelp of surprise before flailing the covers off of herself.

"Okay, _okay!_ I'm up!" the girl insisted as she raised a hand in self-defense at her companion.

Nora stood at the side of the bed with her second pillow slung over her shoulder like some sort of heavy weapon and a smug look upon her face.

" _Are you, though?_ " the redhead taunted before cracking her neck. "C'mon, Ruby. We've gotta hit the road. We're what, two days out, now?"

"Yeah, something like that," Ruby mumbled as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and covered another yawn with her hand. "Maybe three. Or four. Who knows?"

"Sage, hopefully," Nora offered as she tossed her pillow onto Ruby's bed and began a stretching routine of her own. "I'm gonna take a shower. The boys are already awake, apparently. Ren texted me and said he's doing a food run for them. Why don't you go join him?"

" _Food_ ," Ruby replied in an almost trancelike state as she rose to a standing position. "Yeah, I could do food, right about now. I'll grab you something. What do you want?"

"…what _don't_ I eat?" Nora asked with a raised brow as she braced a hand upon the doorframe of the bathroom.

"…good point."

Nora winked and made a clicking noise with her cheek before closing the door and leaving Ruby alone in the main room. The girl let out another small yawn before shaking out her bare arms and shivering to try to shake herself awake. Despite her noble efforts, a haze of sleepiness clung to her like a wet towel, and she eyed up the various things around the room without really processing any of them.

"…meh, whatever," Ruby muttered to herself as she laid eyes on Crescent Rose and Magnhild, which were leaning over in the corner near the bathroom door. "It's just breakfast, and we're skipping town afterward. Nobody's gonna care if I get dressed."

Ruby pulled her white spaghetti-strapped top down a bit farther to cover her navel before grabbing the baggy leg of her rose-patterned pajama pants and giving them a gentle shake. With one final sweep of her hands down over the length of her pants to smooth out some wrinkles, Ruby nodded with satisfaction. She swiped her scroll from the nightstand and stepped into a pair of fuzzy pink slippers before heading to the door and flicking the device open to text Ren.

 _On my way. I'll help you carry stuff, and we can all eat in my room._

Ruby let out a small grumble of protest as she opened the door to the outside world and the sunlight assaulted her eyes. She put a hand up to cover face as she squinted and tried to let her eyes adjust to the overwhelming contrast.

"Nyeh. Stupid morning. Stupid sun."

A vibration in her hand and the sound of metal clinking in the parking lot below caught her attention at the same time, and for a moment, Ruby froze in place. She flicked her scroll back open first to find a simple text reading _"Okay."_ from Ren, before walking her way to the railing and peering down to the ground level. Ruby opened her mouth in surprise as she watched a familiar figure performing maintenance on a motorcycle below, and her mind raced with possibilities. Finally, her mouth caught up with her thoughts, and she leaned over the railing before waving her arm frantically.

" _Coco!_ "

Coco Adel looked up from her position bent low and holding a socket wrench next to a candy-red motorcycle. In place of her usual fashion-forward garb, the woman was clad in a brown and black leather jumpsuit fir for riding. Despite the motorcycle helmet resting squarely upon the seat of her vehicle, she still wore her classic sunglasses and had her hair styled. Upon spying Ruby waving form the second floor balcony, she flashed the smaller girl a radiant smile and beckoned toward herself while rising to stand. Ruby quickly made her way over to the staircase and sprinted down it before running over toward her friend.

"Coco!" Ruby cried again before throwing her arms around the older girl in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, it's _so_ good to see you! We were all wondering what happened to Team CFVY after Beacon! What are you doing all the way out here? Where are Fox, Velvet, and Yatsu? What are…"

Ruby hesitated as a heavy feeling of dread crept up her spine. Coco's embrace tightened around her, and before she could react, Ruby was lifted off her feet and brought up and over Coco's shoulder. The larger woman slammed her into the pavement before driving her elbow into Ruby's back and pinning her to the ground upon her stomach as she let out a yelp of pain and began to cough.

"Coco, what are y-"

Ruby's eyes widened as she looked over her shoulder and caught sight of the object in Coco's hand. There in place of the socket wrench was instead a pink lace umbrella with a wicked needle protruding from the top. Coco smiled deviously as she brought the weapon downward for the back of Ruby's neck, only for the girl to burst into flower petals that scattered across the asphalt. A streak of deep red shot back toward the staircase before Ruby rematerialized and began to run up the steps with "Coco" in hot pursuit.

" _Sage!_ " Ruby yelled as loudly as she could while racing for the boys' hotel room door. "Sage, I need you!"

Again, Ruby looked over her shoulder just in time to see the umbrella-sword thrust out for her neck. She dodged to the left and put a hand on the weapon, only for a swift kick from a leather boot to catch her in the side of the face. Ruby's aura pulsed an angry red as she lost her grip on the umbrella and stumbled backward. "Coco" leapt up onto the railing and began to run at Ruby, before the brunette threw a hook in an attempt to sweep her legs. "Coco" shattered like glass at the contact and appeared behind Ruby before she sank a heel directly into the center of the girl's spine.

" _Gah!_ " Ruby cried as she stumbled forward and pulled herself up before breaking into a sprint. "What do you want with me!? Were you _following_ us!?"

No answer came from "Coco" as she gritted her teeth and ran after Ruby along the terrace. Just as she passed the staircase, the door to the boys' room flew open with great force and caught her square in the face. The impact sent her tumbling backward along the balcony in a roll as Sage emerged from his room, shirtless and breathless with his sword held at the ready. His dark-skinned chest was marked with scars, while his back was etched with a large, black tribal tattoo. The contrasting patterns seemed to expand and contract as he breathed heavily, his eyes on the intruder mere feet away.

"Oscar, stay in the room! Who… the _hell_ is that!?" the man questioned as Ruby held onto the railing behind him while trying to catch her breath.

"…an old enemy I didn't think I'd ever see again," Ruby answered. "Neopolitan. I think she's been tailing us."

"Yeah?" Sage answered as he cracked his neck to one side. "Well, that ends _here_."

Neopolitan pulled an annoyed face as she pushed herself up off the ground. Fragments of her illusory disguise fell off of her jacket and pants, shattering as they touched the floor of the terrace. Her shoulders tensed as she gritted her teeth and pointed her umbrella first at Sage, and then Ruby behind him without a word.

"Not on my watch," Sage warned. "You want the girl, you get through me, first."

Neopolitan narrowed her mismatched eyes of pink and brown for a moment before the corner of her mouth upturned into a cocky smirk. She offered Sage a noncommittal shrug and dashed in with an umbrella thrust, which Sage quickly parried off to the side with the flat of his massive two-handed sword. Neopolitan leapt forward with catlike grace and pushed off the weapon with a heel before sailing over Sage's head and slashing downward at Ruby in midair. The girl responded by simply bursting into petals once again and sailing over the railing in a crimson streak. Neopolitan was quick to follow by vaulting the iron railing just as Sage's sword crashed down upon where she had been standing, and the man let out a growl of frustration.

"Alright! _Fine_ then!" he roared before placing a hand upon the wrought iron and throwing himself over the edge. He landed hard upon the pavement, his boots slamming into the ground as he eyed up Neopolitan. "Need a lotta room for my semblance, anyway."

Neopolitan watched out of the corner of her eye as Ruby zipped around the parking lot and then back to the staircase. Sage made a point of orienting himself to block off the path as Ruby ran up toward her room, and Neopolitan let out a dramatic sigh. She shook her head and gave her weapon a twirl before drawing the sword from within its handle and tossing the body of the umbrella aside. With one final, bored look, she pointed the blade directly at Sage and then beckoned toward herself.

"Not much for words, huh?" Sage asked as he raised a hand and began to trace a slow circle within the air. An amber outline of glittering energy appeared along the path, and as the circle closed, crisscrossing beams of light carved the floating circle into twelve equal sections. "Me neither."

Neopolitan watched quietly as a green line of energy manifested within the third section of the circle and began to tick in a constant, erratic rhythm. The metal of Sage's sword frosted over with a coating of jagged ice, and he began to walk in a circle around his opponent. Neopolitan copied his movements in the opposite direction while stealing occasional glances at the midair 'clock'. As the green hand ticked over into the fourth quadrant, Sage's sword erupted into flames, and Neopolitan smirked as she nodded with understanding.

"Get it? Good for you," Sage praised. "Just gotta buy her a few more sec-"

Neopolitan provided no such courtesy before slipping behind a nearby truck and then disappearing from view entirely. Sage ran toward the vehicle as an image of Neopolitan darted out from around its side, and he swung hard into the illusion. The projection of Neopolitan shattered, her fragments bursting into flame before the coating around Sage's sword became an ever-shifting spiral of wind. The man was quick to adjust his focus as the real Neopolitan came over the hood of the truck with her sword drawn, and he lashed out his sword with a baseball swing. A massive wave of wind pressure caused Neopolitan to fly back up and over the cab and into the truck bed, and Sage ran up the hood to give chase. As he readied himself to swing down into the back of the truck, he paused and stiffened.

There in the truck bed was Ruby's blood-covered corpse, still dressed in her pajamas. Her clothing was tattered and torn, and Neopolitan's sword was resting just beside her. Just as Sage realized what was going on, the dead body leapt upward and raked the blade across his upper chest, earning a dazzling flicker of his deep green aura as he stumbled backward and nearly fell off the vehicle.

"Cheeky little runt, ain't ya?" Sage questioned as he blocked another thrust with the flat of his blade while balancing atop the hood of the truck. "Almost had me there for a second!"

Neopolitan threw out another strike just as Sage's blade began to crackle with lightning. She pulled back just in time with a sharp gasp and leapt over the side of the truck bed and down onto the pavement. A high caliber bullet whizzed past her from up on the balcony, and she looked up to see Ruby with Crescent Rose braced against the railing and her face pressed to the weapon's scope.

"Don't move," Ruby warned with a firm voice. "We want to ask you some questions. We'll… uh, give you paper, or something?"

Neopolitan rolled her eyes and jumped straight up, her blade aimed for Sage's shoulder as her bloody disguise melted away. Another rifle round tore straight through her abdomen and caused her to splinter into shards before she appeared near the staircase, running while crouched. A sudden flurry of rapid-fire bullets tore into the asphalt in front of her and caused her to backpedal just before she reached the stairs. Upon looking to her left, she found Lie Ren with both of his guns trained upon her.

"Do _not_ move," the boy warned as he began a slow approach. "It's three to one, Neo. You cannot win."

" _Four_ to one, you mean," Nora corrected as she appeared behind Ruby upon the balcony. The woman was wearing only a fluffy pink towel and had Magnhild trained upon Neopolitan in its grenade launcher form. "Hello again. We _didn't_ miss you."

Neopolitan shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose before swinging her sword up and over her shoulder. The weapon's umbrella casing manifested around the blade, and she flicked the lacy circle open to hide herself from view of Ruby and Nora.

"Oh, screw this!" Nora yelled as she fired a grenade straight for the umbrella.

"Nora, it's just an illu-" Ruby began, only to watch in horror as Neopolitan closed her umbrella and swung hard at the grenade. The projectile flew up toward the balcony and detonated in midair, causing a sizeable explosion. Ruby just barely managed to grab Nora and duck behind the railing as the blast went off, and Neopolitan sprinted for her motorcycle in the ensuing chaos as Ren ran forward to get an angle on her. Sage leapt from the roof of the truck and began to give chase, only for Neopolitan to rev the throttle on her bike and take off for the curb with her helmet tucked under her shoulder.

" _Wait!_ " Ruby called as she raised a hand. Ren and Sage both froze and stared after Neopolitan, who turned her bike around and glared up at Ruby as she revved the engine. "Just… _why?_ Why are you after us…?"

Neopolitan's face again sunk into a hateful glare, and she shook her head. Slowly, she pointed an accusatory finger directly at Ruby, who turned her own finger toward herself.

"You're after _me?_ Just me…?"

Neopolitan spun her helmet in her hands, and the object began to change shape as it moved upward. Upon reaching the top of her head, the helmet had turned into a black bowler hat with a red band around the base. Ruby's heart sank as she watched Neopolitan don the headgear and then peel out, her taillight growing smaller as she sped down the highway.

"Was that…?" Nora questioned as she laid a hand upon Ruby's shoulder.

"… _yeah_ ," Ruby answered as she kept her eyes on the road. "And she's heading the same way we are. I think… this trip just got a _lot_ more complicated…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

In case it wasn't abundantly clear between Ruby not believing Coco is in Vacuo and Sage actually having a semblance, I don't plan on following _After the Fall_ or _Before the Dawn_. Next chapter will focus around Blake's crew, and hopefully a certain interaction that's been on hold for far too long.

 **-RD**


	94. The Fifth Kingdom

The calming sea breeze played through Blake's hair, gently pulling the locks off to the side as she walked along the coastline. The tide rushed in to meet her uncovered toes once again, and she shivered in response as a wash of foam and chilled water coated her feet before retreating into the ocean.

"So… we're making slow and steady progress," Kali offered as she looked over to her daughter. "I know it isn't exactly _pleasant_ digging through our old home, but we're just about done clearing it out. We'll be able to actively start rebuilding efforts in full tomorrow."

"Thank the gods," Blake remarked with a sigh. "Maybe I'll feel better about it once it's rebuilt, but right now… the house just feels like one big reminder of what's at stake. Adam ruled over my life for years, and he was _nothing_ compared to what we're dealing with now."

"Don't say that," Kali discouraged. "He was _everything_ to you in both a positive and negative way, for a long time. With the Fang coming here and integrating with our citizens, his shadow is still going to play a part in things moving forward."

"I know," Blake acknowledged as she idly flicked one of her feline ears. "But now, _Sun_ is everything to me. I miss him so much, and it hasn't even been that long…"

"You'll see him again soon," Kali replied cryptically. "Sooner than you might think."

"Mom…?" Blake questioned, only to watch her mother bristle as she stared down the length of the beach. The younger faunus followed her mother's eyes to see a massive vessel pulling into the docks, its black sails painted with the familiar crimson emblem of three slash marks and a beast's head.

"They're here," Kali said coldly as another set of sails cut through the fog behind the first vessel. "This is going to be… _interesting_ …"

"Very," Blake agreed as she picked up into a run through the sand in tandem with her mother. "I hope that Cinnamon was being genuine when she said they're here to help…"

"Oh, _that_ isn't what interests me," Kali explained with a mischievous smirk. "I'm looking forward to seeing just what kind of man would maintain a long-term relationship with _her_ , especially through her little charade with Adam. Cinnamon may be our ally, now, but she's _insufferable_."

" _Mom_ ," Blake griped as she rolled her eyes. "This is serious! We need to be careful about how we approach this…"

"Sure, sure," Kali agreed. "But you and I have gotten pretty good at handling those sorts of things as they come. I'm allowed to have my fun."

"Why do I feel like _I'm_ the parent, in this scenario…" Blake mumbled to herself as she shook her head. "Just… _behave_."

"I'll try. On that note, why don't _you_ take the lead on this one?" Kali asked as the pair reached the beginning of the docks.

"…I'm sorry?" Blake asked as her pointed ears stood straight up through her hair. "You want _me_ to negotiate with him, and lay down the law?"

"Why not?" Kali countered. "I'm handling Kuo Kuana at large, so why not be our go-between for the Fang? Daisuke's closer to your age than mine, and I have a funny feeling he might respond more favorably to you than me. You two have a connection that you might not see just yet… but it's a powerful one."

Blake slowed her run down to a walk as the first and largest ship pulled up to a pier still about two hundred feet off in the distance. Gradually, she stopped walking entirely and looked over her mother, whose expression had lost all semblance of playfulness as she turned to stand across from her daughter.

"…you _do_ have a point, as much as I hate to admit it," Blake said with a sigh. "But what if I make a mess of things?"

"At this point? You'd more or less just be smearing around spilled paint. It won't really make it any worse- it'll just change the colors for a bit," Kali lamented. "But don't think along those lines- think about everything you've accomplished, and what we're here to do. I trust you, Blake… and you can understand where these people are coming from and how they must feel right now far better than I can. You can do this."

Blake paused and took a deep breath, the salty air stinging her lungs as she breathed deeply. She let the trapped breath out in a long, shuddering exhale before shaking out her hands and giving the black sails a sidelong look of apprehension.

"…alright. I can do this."

"You can," Kali reassured as she scooped her daughter into a hug. "Stick to what we've already decided upon, and if you get lost… just ask yourself what Sun would say and do. You'll be fine."

Blake balked as Kali patted her on the shoulder and turned away to begin walking down the pier and toward the town.

"Wh-… you're _leaving_ me?" Blake called incredulously.

"I said I trust you!" Kali replied with a backward wave. "And I meant it! You'll be _fine!_ Meet me back at The Notched Blade with Daisuke once you get everything in order!"

Blake breathed out a noise of frustration as she looked back over to the ship, where several members of the White Fang were working to anchor the massive vessel at the docks.

"Right. Act natural, and be pleasant toward strangers who were your enemies until a few days ago," Blake muttered as she walked along the raised wooden platform. "Because you're so good with people, especially when they aren't already friends. Not like it takes you a while to warm up to others or anything. What could go wrong?"

As Blake finally reached the perpendicular dock that acted as a runway to the White Fang's leading boat, she caught sight of two figures engaged in what appeared to be an incredibly awkward conversation at the connecting portion of the pier. The first of the participants was a deer-horned woman wearing brightly colored textiles, who was clearly a dock worker and native of Kuo Kuana. The second faunus was something else entirely.

Daisuke Aki stood opposite the woman, towering over her by almost a foot. His bright red hair was messy, wild, and streaked with sea salt, giving him the appearance of a displaced band member who had spent the day at the beach. He wore a sleeveless black vest with burgundy fur lined around the collar, as well as ripped long pants of a similar dark color. Beneath his vest was a mesh shirt, which gave a partially obscured view of what appeared to be smoky swirls of darkly colored ink upon his pecs. The tattoos continued beneath the vest and extended the entire length of his arms, interrupted only by the occasional inked artwork of a spider lily. The lower half of his face was covered by a jet black mask, and a pair of sleek goggles were pulled up to nest within his wild hair. The man's final defining feature was a long, incredibly thick lizard's tail of a primarily sandy color, with bands of muddy scales peppered along its length.

"…you _must_ be Daisuke," Blake offered with an amused tone as she approached. The native woman offered Blake a thankful and anxious smile before backing away and leaving her to look up toward the lizard faunus.

"…because White Fang higher-ups tend to dress like they're rebelling against their parents?" the man asked in a rich, tired-sounding voice. Blake merely quirked a brow in surprise, to which Daisuke offered her a shrug. "What? _Some_ of us are self-aware, at least."

Blake snorted lightly and offered the man a hand, which he accepted with a gentle grasp of his own. Though his shake was firm, Blake could feel an unexpected tension within the man's movements that matched the odd, formerly undecipherable quality to his deep green eyes. Suddenly, the combination of Daisuke's behaviors and attitude clicked, and Blake came to an important revelation- he was _nervous_.

"… _is_ it just a phase?" she joked as she let her hand slip from his with a subtle smirk.

"…if it is, it's a _very_ long one," Daisuke answered as he scratched at the back of his neck. "Thank you for agreeing to take us in, Miss Belladonna…"

"We don't really have a choice, at this point," Blake explained as she folded her arms. "No decent set of people would in this situation, anyway. Some things are more important than old grudges and political stances."

"I'd argue that _most_ things are," the man replied as he cast a sort of longing glance back for his ship. "Would you like to come aboard? It may be easier to fill in each vessel independently than try to gather everyone on the shore…"

Blake tensed slightly at the notion, before offering the man a shrug of her own.

"…sure. Just don't try anything. I'm armed, and I _will_ be missed if something goes wrong."

"Well, I'm exhausted, unarmed, and hardly in any mental state to fight right now, anyway," Daisuke reassured as he began to lead the way along the docks, his tail dragging lazily behind him. "My men arguably more so."

"…why's that?" Blake asked as she moved to walk beside him.

"Because they know about Salem, and for most people, that's not the kind of threat they thought they would ever be dealing with," Daisuke said simply, causing Blake to come to a sudden stop. He turned to face her and stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking curious. "…what?"

"You _told_ them?" Blake said incredulously. " _All_ of them?"

"Not _all_ of them, no," the lizard faunus denied as he shook his head. "Cin and I gave everyone in the main camp a vague explanation as to why we needed to disband and reform under your banner. Those who outright refused were let go, and those who chose to come along were fully informed. Everyone _here_ knows about Salem. The remnants and splinter groups that chose to remain behind and form their own little parties… they have no idea."

"Splinter groups," Blake repeated as her ears flattened. " _Great_. Just what we need."

"…what did you expect me to do? Kill them?" Daisuke asked. Blake merely stared for a moment before the man let out a long, shuddering sigh and shook his head. "The White Fang you see before you isn't the same as it once was, Blake. To be honest with you, it isn't even the same as the one that was under Cin's leadership for the few short weeks she had control. We're trying to be reasonable, here. We're trying to be _better_."

"Then I hope you are," Blake said icily as she began to walk once again with Daisuke in tow. "There is _so_ much that needs to change before our people can start to heal the divide."

"I know," Daisuke reassured. "And on that note… I'd like to apologize for Cin's attitude toward all of you, over the past few months. She's… been through a lot. Her shell is a hard one to crack, but she has every reason to keep it in place. I know that's likely of little comfort, but I can assure you, she means well."

"…we all have our demons," Blake said cryptically as she climbed the gangplank and began to make her way aboard the ship. "All I care about right now is that she's on our side, and so are you."

"I've yet to find a cause I care more about, the White Fang included," Daisuke added as he followed Blake onto the vessel.

Blake paused as she looked about the deck, where members of the White Fang were busy working. One by one, they noticed her presence and stopped their tasks of carrying boxes, hauling ropes and cleaning. Most of the crew simply stared, though a few moved to head below deck and out of her line of sight. As Blake looked around from person to person, she noticed that _none_ of them were wearing masks, and they all looked just as or more exhausted than their leader.

"…allow me," Daisuke said softly as he gently laid a hand upon Blake's shoulder and moved to stand in front of her. Suddenly, his otherwise laid back and smooth voice gained an authoritative edge, and his volume reached a level enough to make Blake jump slightly at the unexpected transition.

"Men! Gather those still below deck and bring the entire crew topside. Miss Belladonna has instructions for us, and I expect you all to afford her the same respect you would give me. I know you're all tired, displaced, and displeased, but this is just another one of those things we _have_ to do. At the very least, we can trust that she and her allies are responsible and have our best interests in mind."

Blake offered Daisuke a nod as several more men went below deck.

"…we do. I swear we do. I want nothing more than for all of this to resolve peacefully, and to stand against Salem and show the world what the faunus are capable of," she said softly as Daisuke moved to stand at her side once again.

"…spoken like someone who remembers what the White Fang used to be," he replied without looking at her.

Blake nodded slowly as she watched more people arrive on deck, until the surface became packed to the rails.

"Is this everyone?"

"I forgot my attendance sheet and gradebook down in the captain's cabin," Daisuke answered with a shrug. "It looks like it, though. If anyone gets out of line, I can threaten to call their parents for you."

Blake merely rolled her eyes as she stepped forward and took a deep breath while looking over the crowd at large. Their expressions ranged from curiosity to annoyance, though she found the majority far more subdued than she expected.

"…men and women of the White Fang," Blake began in a firm voice. She took another deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, before beginning to imagine herself as Sun. Gradually, her shoulders straightened and she stood taller, trying her best to channel her lover's confidence.

"You have my thanks, and the thanks of _all_ members of Kuo Kuana, for coming here today. Our work is important and carries with it the beginnings of a foundation for a fifth kingdom of Remnant. I want to make one thing perfectly clear, before you disembark- we are all _equals_. Residents of Kuo Kuana and the White Fang may have started on different paths, but now, we all walk _together_. Your concerns will become our concerns, and our leaders will do the best we can to work with yours and find solutions. Keep in mind, no matter whether this is a homecoming, new land, or something else entirely for you- we are _all_ faunus, and that makes us brothers and sisters in arms."

Nods of assent began within the crowd, though a few of the men and women began to whisper amongst themselves. Blake did her best to ignore them as she continued, feeling more confident.

"…we have land set aside for those who wish to set up housing on the island. We also have several families who have offered to open their homes to anyone willing to live among the islanders. First and foremost, though, I ask that you check in at the stations set up just beyond the docks. Once that's taken care of, take the remainder of the week to familiarize yourselves, and then your leader and I will work to divide everyone into designated work crews to begin fortifying our home. Are there any questions?"

Blake paused and looked out over the people, only to receive total silence.

"…don't worry- it isn't you. The questions will come soon enough," Daisuke reassured as he took a step forward. The man raised his voice once again and made a circular motion in the air with a finger. "Alright! You heard her! Get to work, and then stop working for a few days! I'll see you all on the ground!"

The members of the White Fang began to mill about the ship once again as a slew of louder conversations started. Blake heaved a massive sigh, deflating as she did so while trying to let go of her tension.

"…I feel like I'm going to throw up. Leadership is… not my strong suit."

"Oh, good. Only two more ships to go," Daisuke replied before stepping onto the gangplank and making his way back down to the pier. "Once we're done, I'll buy you a drink. Then you can _really_ get some impressive vomit going."

"Thanks," Blake snarked as she followed the man down onto the wooden pier once again. "I know just the place… but the drinks are free and come with awkward conversation with the rest of my friends. We're likely to end up there after this, anyway."

"…this truly is an island paradise…" Daisuke mumbled as he led the way toward the second ship.

"Oh, you have _no_ idea…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Next chapter is probably going to be a _long_ one and will mark the end of 'Act 1' of 3 for Volume 7. Daisuke's design is included in the AO3 version of this chapter, so head over there if you want his artwork!

 **-RD**


	95. Unite & Conquer

"You know… I had never had pizza before Beacon, but I've _really_ come to appreciate it over the past year and change," Weiss admitted as she pulled a slice from the box upon the coffee table. A long string of cheese followed her hand, and Yang swooped in to twirl a finger through it before popping it into her mouth.

" _Hey!_ " Weiss whined as she plopped her pizza down onto her plate. "You… you _cheese thief!_ "

"Guilty," Yang admitted with a shrug. "Spar me over it once our upgrades are done."

"Oh, I _will_ ," Weiss huffed before taking a bite of pizza while holding it farther from Yang.

"…wow. That is some seriously petty shit. I approve," Ilia praised through a mouthful of cheese. "Speaking of approval- you look _so_ much better without the shitty chinstrap, Sun."

The monkey faunus rolled his eyes as he leaned back into the couch seat from his spot on the ground between Jaune and Weiss.

"Yeah, yeah. Shaving wasn't exactly a priority for a while, alright? I had bigger concerns."

"We all did," Jaune pointed out as he looked over his circle of friends gathered around the small table. "And we all still do- thus, this meeting. I can start, if we're just airing anxieties. Mine are probably the least important and impactful, so I can get them out of the way pretty quickly."

"Don't downplay your concerns, Jaune," Weiss scolded from Sun's other side. "Whatever you're feeling is valid, and likely important. We'll support you through it."

"Well… maybe 'least important' isn't what I meant," the boy considered. "Just… the least clearly resolvable? And maybe least unique? I'm really just worried about Salem and being ready for whatever's coming. There isn't too much else on my mind that's a personal concern."

"But there _is_ something," Ilia probed as she poked the boy just beneath the ribs.

" _Gah!_ Don't do that!" Jaune complained as he smacked the faunus' hand away. "You _know_ I hate that!"

"Exactly. So spill, before I employ Level Two techniques," Ilia threatened with narrowed eyes.

"…is Level Two puppy eyes?" Sun asked with a raised brow. "Because as cute as you are with short hair, you just might break him."

"Level Two is tickling him until he pees," Ilia corrected nonchalantly. "And don't _even_ tell me you're not ticklish. I mean… _look at you_."

Jaune narrowed his eyes and took a bite of pizza.

" _Try me_."

Ilia hastily tossed her plate and half-eaten slice up onto the table before diving around the furniture and flopping onto Yang's lap in the process. More quickly than Jaune could react, she had her hands on either side of his stomach and wriggled her fingers against his uniform in a desperate attempt to break him. Jaune merely stared and took another bite, while Sun scooted slightly farther away from Ilia with a nervous look.

"… _honestly_ ," Weiss lamented while Sun bumped shoulders with her. "You're all acting like absolute children."

"Depending on who you ask, we _are_ children," Yang pointed out as she watched Ilia transition her fingers up beneath Jaune's armpits in a futile effort. After a few seconds, Yang swatted Ilia across the rear with her metallic hand, earning a pained yelp from the smaller girl. "Alright, time's up. You failed."

"Damn it…" Ilia griped as she slid off of Yang and retrieved her pizza, which was suddenly missing several pieces of pepperoni. She narrowed her eyes at the buxom blonde, who kept an unreadable poker face throughout the staredown.

"…anyway," Yang said as she returned her attention to Jaune. "Your personal concerns? We're supposed to be sharing, no matter how stupid we might think they are."

"…right," Jaune agreed with a weary sigh. "Well… I guess I just feel like the least capable person here, and I don't think it's a secret that it's true. I know I've gotten better, but I'm still lagging behind everyone… and I'm really starting to think I need a new hair style. I just feel like it's… gotten old, too long, and unattractive."

The other four teens simply stared, until Ilia took the opportunity to swipe a piece of pepperoni from Yang's slice while she was distracted.

"…well… we're all going to be sparring a _lot_ , soon," Sun offered. "We'll help you out, and as long as you put the work in, we can get you to where you want to be. I mean, the Aces are probably going to be kicking _all_ of our asses on a daily basis, if they're really the elite team they're cracked up to be."

"They are," Weiss confirmed. "The Ace Ops are borderline _legendary_ figures within Atlas. It's like having a squad of four Grimm Reapers working together… which, honestly, is what _we_ should aspire to become. As for the hair… I could try, perhaps? I _did_ manage to cut Ilia's…"

"And Sun said it's cute," the faunus girl proclaimed triumphantly. "Maybe Weiss can get you looking sexy. Maybe we can work on getting you set up with a girl, too."

"…that's… actually another thing that I didn't want to bring up, because it's just…" Jaune trailed off with a nervous look toward Ilia. He took a deep breath before shaking his head and continuing, his eyes on the plush carpet. "I'm honestly kinda worried about how much 'life' we're all missing out on, especially because I'm way behind all of you. I've been thinking about how it's entirely possible that I'm going to die a virgin with one kiss under my belt, for example."

Again, the room went silent as Jaune kept his eyes on the floor.

"…go ahead and laugh. That's part of the reason I said it, but it's still true. I know it's stupid and unimport-"

"None of us are laughing," Yang interrupted, only for Jaune to look up at her in surprise. "Maybe it's not about sex for everyone, but I think we're _all_ feeling that, on some level. We've been directly told from multiple people with far more experience than us that we may be staring down a doomsday scenario, and _none_ of us are even out of our teens, yet. There's still a lot I want to do. I've never held down a steady relationship either, you know."

"…and you've got me beat, at least," Weiss said softly as she shifted upon the carpet. "My kiss tally is currently at 'zero', and I don't see that changing anytime soon. It's… something I've thought about. It's not stupid, Jaune- it's just part of being human. I'm feeling lonely and scared, too."

"…I know I'm probably not the guy you want to hear from right now," Sun began cautiously, "but what they're saying is totally right- maybe some of us aren't thinking about the same things we're missing out on, but we _are_ thinking about everything that's being kept from us while we're fighting… and how we might never get it. I never really had a family until I met Blake's, and it got ripped away from me in a matter of weeks. I want to get that feeling back and start one of my own, but there's… a really good possibility that's not going to happen."

"Ilia?" Jaune asked as he finally dared to look over at the girl, who was avoiding eye contact with the others and keeping her attention down upon her pizza. " _You're_ not even going to jump on that opportunity to make fun of me?"

"…no, I'm not," Ilia answered quickly. She paused for nearly a full minute as the others all turned their attention to her. "Everyone here is right, and I've only gotten so… _bitchy_ lately because I know I'm going to be more vulnerable than anyone else here _very_ soon, and it's my way of kinda preemptively pushing the rest of you away and keeping you at a certain distance. I _will_ lose my shit, either in anger, depression, or _both_ once we start working in and around the dust mines, and I don't _want_ any of you trying to tell me it's all going to be okay. The situation that's about to become inevitable for me is an echo of the one that gave me enough anger to join the White Fang and stand against _Blake_. I'm scared of what's going to happen this time, when I'm dealing with it _directly_ … and while I'm supposed to be working with Weiss and Winter."

Weiss paled at Ilia's words and took a deep breath before folding her hands in her lap uncomfortably.

"…I don't know what to say," the girl admitted. "So… I'll just say that I'm committed to helping you through this, whatever that may mean. If you need to scream at me, spar with me, or even remain away from me for a time, I'll understand."

"I don't know what will help, but I doubt it's any of those things," Ilia replied as she looked up at Weiss. "I know it's not your fault in any way and that you've been good to me… but I also know I'm a petty, emotional wreck, and not above sabotaging myself and others while lashing out. I'm scared of being forced to deal with the mines, and of _myself_. And that's without even mentioning how I feel about Corsac…"

"Ilia, we will _all_ be here for you," Sun reassured. "And you know that if you need to stay with me any night, you're always welcome. You also know that I can take a hit, so… there's that, I guess?"

Ilia merely shook her head with a humorless chuckle.

"…yeah. I know."

"…but on that note," Sun continued, "we… really _do_ need to decide what to do with Corsac. Ironwood's leaving it up to me, and I'm not making that kind of decision without consulting all of you. So far as I can tell, he just wants to be left behind bars to rot and feels like he's got no real motivation to fight for anything anymore. I'm not sure how much he knows about what we're here for, but there's the possibility that he knows _something_ about the relics and Salem…"

"Then 'behind bars' isn't even a realistic option," Yang insisted. "We've all done shit we regret… and I'm _probably_ going to get hit for this, but Ilia was Fang, too. We're giving her a second chance, so I don't really see why we can't do the same for him."

"…oh, I _want_ to hit you, but I know I don't have a leg to stand on," Ilia seethed. "All I've got is the fact that he and Fennec served Adam _gleefully_. They _loved_ what they did, until it stopped being fun after Fennec was killed by Kali. I knew him before he became this… _whatever_ this apathetic monk-charade he's got going on is, and I don't trust him. He spent a lot of time deceiving Ghira and working against him behind the scenes, Sun. He could easily do the same thing to you to try to win Cinnamon back if you give him the opportunity."

"…and suddenly, I think I might throw up," Sun warned as he set his plate down onto the table. "I was thinking of trying to help him start over, but… now that you've said all _that_ …"

"I have an idea, but it's… risky," Weiss offered. "He has interpersonal conflicts among several people here, and Cin warned us that there were White Fang _somewhere_ in Mantle, so keeping him there is also a big risk. What if we somehow got him to Beacon, or even Vacuo, to work with the defenders there?"

"A _completely_ new start, away from us," Sun mused. "But with no way to monitor him at all. If someone went with him, I feel like that could almost work… but that's not happening."

"I don't think this is the kind of thing we can decide on right now," Jaune interjected with a frown. "It sounds to me like the best way to handle this is to get to know him better, and find a way to get him to contribute that benefits both parties."

"Yeah, but with what time?" Yang asked. "And we really can't afford to split our attention like that, can we?"

"We can't," Weiss confirmed. "And Jaune is right- there is no easy or immediate solution, here… so let's keep the discussion open, for the time being. My personal worries right now are somewhat related, in that I'm unsure of who we can really trust, and how I'm going to handle my father. I don't really think either of those are things that I can ask you all for help with, but I wanted to get them out there to let them be known."

"Who we can really trust," Yang repeated. "Surely, you're not including Ironwood in that group?"

"Actually… I am," Weiss admitted. "And the reasoning ties into what I'm sure one of _your_ biggest concerns is. Sun and I have reason to believe that he sent Hope to spy on us while we were meeting with Robyn Hill. It seems like she may have tracked our scroll signals."

"…I fucking called that shit so hard," Ilia reminded as she narrowed her eyes. "He _knows_ we don't fully trust him, and he's just adding fuel to the fire."

"What if he just wants to make sure that he can trust _us?_ " Jaune offered. "He needs to be cautious, especially w-"

"No," Sun interrupted. "Not with some of the things he's asking me to do personally, when it comes to the faunus. Not after we brought him a relic. He should trust us _completely_. We could have done anything with that lamp, but we didn't. We brought it to him, and we volunteered ourselves for getting Amity Coliseum into the sky. That should be more than enough good will to let us operate without being actively spied on."

"So call him on that," Ilia stated plainly. "Or, if you don't want to damage your position as the liaison between us and him… _I'll_ call him on it. If he kicks me off the Amity job, then so much the better."

"Ilia…" Sun began, only for the girl to sit up a bit straighter.

"No, Sun. You're right. That _should_ be enough to buy us trust, and I'm the biggest sticking point between us and him. You know what? I'll save you the trouble. I'm taking one for the team and confronting him. Unless any of you three think what Sun said is wrong?" Ilia challenged, looking around at her companions.

Slowly, Weiss put her pizza on the table beside Sun's and shook her head.

"I think what Sun said is correct, but… I don't think you should confront Ironwood about this. At least, not alone. Let me come with you. My family name means more than just dust when it comes to him, and I can consult with Winter and… other people to figure out the best approach. Give me a few days?"

Ilia let out a noise of annoyance before giving Weiss a nod.

"…yeah, sure. And thanks, Weiss. You're one of the good ones."

"I guess that's that," Yang said with a shrug. "My only big concern outside of the obvious about Salem and what we're going to be asked to do is Hope, but you all know that. Dr. Polendina was 'out' when I went down to R&D to talk weapon upgrades. That was convenient."

"And that's another conversation that I don't think should be had alone," Sun warned. "Let _me_ come with you for that one, after I get the security footage of the Vytal Festival from Ironwood. We'll confront him together and keep each other balanced."

"Fine," Yang replied with a wave of her hand. "But if we don't have that footage before we're sent out to the mines, we're going down there without it. Anything else on _your_ mind, besides what's already been covered?"

Sun paused to give the question some thought, before shaking his head softly.

"…not really, no. I was just worried about all of you, but getting all of this out in the open has taken care of that, somewhat." Sun scratched the back of his head, before raising a brow at Jaune. "Hey, man. You've been quiet while we've been making plans. What's on your mind?"

Jaune returned Sun's gaze with an unfamiliar, steely determination in his eyes.

"I've just been thinking, actually. Both of those plans sound good, but I think I've got one of my own, now. Let _me_ talk to Corsac…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Originally, I wanted to put the next scene in this chapter, but it really doesn't fit and I'd rather let this friendly gathering stand on its own. "Act 2" begins in the next chapter with a conversation that's been a long time coming, as well as some villainous stuff. The upgrade/training arc will also begin soon, as will Ruby's crew arriving in Patch. Things are about to get _very_ interesting…

 **-RD**


	96. The Price of Pride

Weiss curled her fingers around the railing at the edge of one of the Academy's many rooftops, the cold metal seeping into her fingers as she stared out over the city of Atlas. The plethora of blinking neon signs, animated billboards, and taillights far below seemed to smear together into a vomit-like puddle in her mind, bringing with it a fitting taste of bile in her throat. Weiss narrowed her eyes as she gripped the railing harder, her ponytail swaying gently in the night breeze.

"…you're a hard woman to find."

Weiss' expression immediately softened at the voice, and she turned to find her sister standing behind her, next to a massive air conditioning unit. Winter Schnee stood clad in a white pencil dress and matching heels, her hair down and scroll in hand. As she approached, Weiss rapidly closed the distance and threw her arms around her older sister.

" _Winter!_ " the smaller Schnee cried as she tightened her grip. "I've been wondering when we would finally get a chance to speak alone. I was going to try to come and find you, b-"

"Don't bother," Winter said icily as she returned the embrace. "My availability is spotty, and I've been forced to spend what little time I have mitigating the damage our father is doing to the twin cities. I'll seek you out where and when I can."

"I can't believe he's running for public office," Weiss muttered as she stepped back with a sigh. "Well… I _can_ , I just can't believe he's apparently been successful thus far…"

"He has Mantle's economy in a stranglehold," Winter explained as she folded her arms across her chest. "It's simple, when you think about it. Our family controls over 75% of dust production in Atlas. Dust means lights, heat, vehicles, and job security. He's been slowly peeling the dust provided to Mantle back to create artificial scarcity and blaming it on the General. His story is that only _he_ can convince General Ironwood to stop secretly 'taking' from the dust supposedly allocated for public works."

"And Ironwood has no way to deny it, given the secrets he needs to keep," Weiss realized. "Winter, we _can't_ let him win."

"We may have to," the elder Schnee lamented as she moved to wrap her hands around the railing. "Robyn Hill may have the best of intentions, but she's young. Naïve. Full of misdirected anger that is spilling over into Mantle itself and poisoning the well. If she wins, the hatred toward the General will increase exponentially as she pushes for more and more knowledge, only to be denied at every turn."

"If _he_ wins, won't the people still be fed up with Ironwood?" Weiss inquired as she moved to join her sister.

"…yes, but not nearly as much. Our father's motives are blatantly obvious- greed and influence. Once he has his seat, his grip upon the dust market will begin to relax, and the people will be at least somewhat placated. If he _loses_ … he may well throw his support behind Robyn in hopes that she'll squeeze General Ironwood in his stead, simply out of spite. No matter _what_ happens next, it's going to be bad for Atlas. If Robyn wins, it's going to be bad for Mantle, as well," Winter said with a sigh. She ran a hand through her hair before continuing.

"The anger of the people will boil over as we continue to allocate dust for the Amity project. We _are_ taking more than our usual share to power construction upon the arena itself, but that's classified information, and Jacques can _easily_ cover the difference. Even so… it looks very, _very_ bad when Robyn is framing the situation for us. Not to mention… Jacques could easily make acquiring dust for our operation _very_ difficult, if he wanted to."

"…so, you actually hope he wins," Weiss said, dumbfounded. "You're suggesting that putting a snake onto the council is actually more beneficial than seeing Robyn get elected."

"I am," Winter replied coldly. "But _only_ because of Amity. Reconnecting the world has to be our priority right now, and to do that, sacrifices must be made. Robyn will get her time in the sun, but for the moment, we need our father to be a useful idiot for us. We simply placate him, keep him funneling dust to us in exchange for a seat, and do our best to limit his influence."

Weiss fell silent for a long while, her face falling to one of hopelessness as she looked out over the city below once again.

"…and he'll drag our name through the mud even more, all the while…"

"It's not as though it can get much dirtier," Winter pointed out as she tightened her grip upon the railing.

Weiss shifted in place, suddenly feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

"…you know… shortly after my arrival at Beacon, when our teams were formed, I was _furious_ that I wasn't put into a leadership position. I thought I deserved it for all of the hard work I've put into both traditional and combat study, as well as my proficiency with dust, and… our family name. I… threw a tantrum when Ruby was chosen," Weiss admitted, only for Winter to give her a disappointed look. "But now, seeing everything I've seen since then, and being privy to information such as this… I _never_ want that burden. I don't know if I _could_ make unfavorable decisions for the greater good. Every major decision I've made since leaving that place has been for _me_ … and that's exactly what our father does. That's the Schnee name, in a nutshell. You rose above it, while I… I'm still trying to learn how."

Weiss jumped slightly as she felt her sister's heavy hand upon her shoulder. She looked up, only to see that Winter's expression was one of fierce condemnation.

"You've chosen to fight for _all_ of Remnant… and you've forgotten perhaps the most important thing about our family, Weiss. Jacques is a Schnee in name only- you and I are Schnees by blood. _We_ define our namesake- not the public, and certainly not _him_."

Weiss nodded slowly, before shaking her head.

"…you're right, of course… but I still can't help but feel as though that name is a burden, more than anything. I had barely ever _seen_ faunus before Beacon, and now traveling with Sun and listening to the damage our father caused to Ilia… I can't help but wonder just how many lives have been destroyed because of what our father has done. The thought of seeing him elevated as a supposed champion of the people makes me feel sick."

"I know the feeling," Winter admitted as she let her hand slip from Weiss' shoulder. "Working with the Aces for quite some time, now, I've gotten to know Marrow fairly well. His family was nearly destroyed by ours, and though he insists that he doesn't hold a grudge… that doesn't stop the feelings of guilt."

"Marrow's family…?" Weiss questioned, her stomach turning once again.

"It's… a long, unpleasant story," Winter said dismissively. "But he's told me time and time again that it isn't my fault, and that my willingness to work with him is more than enough to override any passive feelings of hostility."

"He told me much the same thing," Weiss replied. "He's a gentle soul, and one that I look forward to seeing more of."

"Hm," Winter considered as she turned her attention back to the city below. "He said much the same about you."

Weiss immediately looked up to her sister for clarification, though she found nothing as Winter kept her gaze firmly attached to the lights upon the ground.

"…I… I mean, I'm looking forward to getting to know _all_ of the Aces, really," Weiss tried as she began to fidget with her hands. "Except Clover, from what I've seen…"

"Give him time," Winter advised as she pushed back from the railing. "Clover takes his job _very_ seriously. He and I aren't so different, but if you asked someone else what they thought of me after one or two encounters, I doubt you'd be pleased with the way they described me. He'll open up to you, so long as you show him that you're committed to the cause."

"I hope you're right," Weiss said warily. "You're leaving…?"

"I have to," Winter lamented. "We'll talk again soon, but for now… just remember not to rush to judgment, Weiss. We've both been victims of that, time and time again. Don't do it to people you barely know, and _especially_ not to your allies."

"Of course," Weiss replied with a nod. "I hope we can speak again soon."

"As do I. I'm proud of you, Weiss," Winter admitted as she reached the door back into the Academy. "Keep doing what you're doing."

As the door closed behind Winter, the uneasy feeling in Weiss' stomach continued to grow. She shivered softly before turning away from the railing and moving to sit beside the air conditioning unit for several more hours, alone with her thoughts.

* * *

"…alright, _come on_ ," Cinnamon insisted as she followed Tyrian down the wide, obsidian-walled hallway. The woman rolled her eyes at the light filtering through the red and purple stained glass windows that scattered upon the floor, casting the otherwise featureless black stone with menacing patterns. "Who did you lot pay to decorate this place? Having questionable morals doesn't mean you have to live like vampires."

Tyrian chuckled softly, his mechanical tail clinking and chittering as it arched behind him.

"You're quite critical, Miss Shoal. I can't _wait_ to see how that goes over with our goddess."

"Swimmingly, I'd imagine," Cinnamon retorted as she moved to walk beside the man. "I know how and _when_ to keep my mouth shut, if I'm before those who pose a threat to me."

"Good, good," Tyrian praised as the pair approached a large ebony door. Quite suddenly, the man fell behind the other faunus, his eyes narrowing. "And I'm _not_ a threat to you, is what you're saying."

"You got it in one," Cinnamon mocked as she arrived at the door. "Though, truth be told, the hostility from me is more about being _forced_ into this than anything else. I don't like having the lives of my people hung over me as a threat. Were this something other than strictly business, maybe I'd be more pleasant."

"Maybe you would," Tyrian agreed as he caught up and grasped one of the iron rings attached to the door. "And yet, I find it unlik-"

A tortured, pained wail echoed from within the room, shrill and desperate enough to cause Cinnamon to stiffen. Even Tyrian bristled at the sudden noise, and the pair looked at each other equally alarmed and confused.

"What in the hell…?" Cinnamon asked, her tone suspicious.

"…I have a theory, but it's unlikely," Tyrian said hesitantly. "Regardless, brace yourself. I think it's clear that she's not in a receptive mood."

" _Delightful_ ," Cinnamon grumbled as she gripped her own iron knocker and pulled the door open. As she wrenched the massive slab back and caught sight of the throne room, her grip around the ring tightened. The woman paused, all color draining from her face at the display before her.

Salem stood with her back to the door, her pale arms raised before herself. The remains of a long table and several accompanying seats were splintered and strewn about the room as though there had been an explosion. Where the furniture had once stood was instead a gooey, twisting mass of swirling black tendrils, each tipped with a white bone claw. Several of the tendrils reached for the high ceiling of the room, where a bleeding, short-haired woman in a red dress was suspended by her right arm. Multiple vicious hooks had pierced the flesh of the limb, effectively holding her in place as another tendril coiled around her neck, slowly growing tighter. Cinder Fall gasped for breath as she clawed at her throat with her left hand, which was formed of a similar claw.

" _What?_ " Salem snapped as she looked over her shoulder, her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. Upon catching sight of Tyrian and Cinnamon, she slowly turned her attention back to the dangling woman above her. "I see. You were successful, then."

For once, Tyrian hesitated as he watched Cinder struggle against the ever-tightening restraints. A slick trail of blood had worked its way down her arm and side, before beginning to drip from her bare foot into the mass of tendrils below her.

"…yes, my queen…"

"Is something _wrong?_ " Salem questioned, her voice light and inquisitive as another hooked tendril dug into Cinder's bicep, eliciting a tortured scream.

"No, no, not at all," Tyrian reassured with a quick bow. "I've brought you Cinnamon Shoal. She's here to serve."

"Is that so?" Salem asked rhetorically. "Tyrian. Gather the others. Cinnamon and I need to have words."

"Right away," Tyrian answered with another bow.

Cinnamon stepped forward, her shoulders stiff as the heavy doors closed behind her. She sucked in a deep breath as Salem turned to face her with her hands folded before herself. A tense moment passed before Salem offered the other woman a humorless smirk. Cinnamon was the first to blink, though she said nothing as she waited.

"…the new High Leader of the White Fang," Salem mused, her tone honeyed and unconcerned. "Let's have a little chat before my other subordinates arrive, shall we?"

Cinnamon's eyes remained firmly upon Salem as she tried to ignore the sounds of panicked gasping from high above her. Slowly, she balled her hand into a fist to try to stop it from shaking, though she could still feel her clenched fingers trembling.

"…yes. Let's."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Next up- villain time.

 **-RD**


End file.
